Super Koopalings Episode 2: Soul Swap
by StarlitDuck
Summary: A koopa troopa has his body stolen in the middle of the night by a mysterious figure. The Koopalings get in a fight with the figure and come out victorious; however, Lemmy and Ludwig don't make it out of the battle completely unscathed. OUTDATED! See Soul Swap Redux for updated version.
1. 1 The Body Snatcher

Chapter 1 The Body Snatcher

It was the middle of the night; the depths of the witching hour. Almost everybody in the Koopa Kingdom was in the middle of dreams that would most likely fall out of their memories by the time the rooster crowed. The only people who were still awake were those unfortunate enough to be plagued by restlessness, a few shady figures, and some koopas who were on the night shift. One koopa troopa who fell into that last category was laboring away in a small toy store, making sure that the toys were clean by dusting them. He was whistling in an attempt to keep his spirits up, but it was impossible for one to ignore the dark circles that decorated the skin under his eyes.

The place that the koopa troopa worked was an odd one. It sold the typical stuff that one would expect to find in a toy store, like train sets and toy tools. What was weird, however, was the fact that it sold plushies of figures who populated the Koopa and Mushroom Kingdoms. It had plushies of Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Princess Peach, a variety of toads and goombas, and all seven of the Koopalings. Koopa parents had made the odd request for companies to make toys like this and for stores to stock them so that their children could role play the different kidnappings of Princess Peach (preferably with Bowser being successful).

Anyway, the koopa troopa was in the middle of dusting a plushie of Lemmy. When he finished, he stopped whistling and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whew," he said. "All ten thousand forty six toys are dust free. And it only cost me two thousand sneezes."

The koopa troopa chuckled at this. He was one of those people who was often amused by the jokes that he himself told. He twirled the duster like a baton and glanced at his watch.

"Oh wow," he said. "It's almost midnight! Guess I'd better get home if I want to be here by eight tomorrow."

The koopa troopa turned and started walking toward the store room, which was near the entrance. He resumed with whistling the tune that he had been producing when he was dusting. He was just about to put the duster away when he heard something odd: the ringing of a bell. As a toy store employee, it was not uncommon for him to hear the twinkling of bells as people entered and exited the store. He was a little taken aback, however, that he heard it at this time of night, when the store was supposed to be closed.

The koopa troopa dropped the duster and glanced at the entrance, but whoever had entered the store moved pretty swiftly. The koopa troopa followed the sound of their footsteps around the nearest aisle, but before he could get a glimpse of them they turned around the corner. The koopa troopa started to feel a little nervous.

"Um, mister, the store closed two hours ago," the koopa troopa said.

The koopa troopa walked slowly down the aisle, and as he did he tried his best to keep his breathing steady. He could feel his heartbeat in his throat.

"Maybe if you'd like you can check back in after sunrise?"

The koopa troopa turned the corner, and the sight made him stop dead. At first, he thought that there was no one there, that he had imagined the whole thing. But when he squinted, he could see a silhouette crouching on the floor. It looked like a shadow that was tinted purple. The shadowy figure stood up, and the koopa troopa could see that it had his exact height and build. It was like he was looking at his own shadow.

"What the…?" the koopa troopa said.

What happened next is something that the poor troopa will never be able to explain. A ball of purple light formed in the silhouette's hands, and it threw that ball at the koopa troopa. The ball created a beam of sorts that connected the koopa troopa and the figure. When the koopa troopa was hit by the beam, he felt excruciating pain, like he was being stung by a million bees. The next thing he knew, he was on the floor, trying to regain his breath.

"Oh I'd love to take you up on that offer…"

The koopa troopa glanced up, and the sight almost made him scream. He was looking into none other than his own face!

"...but I'm afraid I'll be working here at this time," came a voice (not his voice, mind you) that escaped from his throat. The koopa troopa's face and whoever occupied it sneered down at his victim and started walking back down the aisle.

The koopa troopa couldn't believe what he was seeing. He looked down at his hands and saw that they were no longer flesh and blood, but shadow and vapor. The koopa troopa began to whimper and felt around, allowing him to notice that his whole body had turned dark and purple.

"Although," said the figure with his back to the koopa troopa, "I am considering taking the day off tomorrow. Now, I'm sure my boss won't like that, but hey…"

The figure turned, his eyes gleaming evilly.

"...we only live our lives once."

The koopa troopa's heart filled with panic and fear. Scrambling to his feet, he raced out of the store, inwardly praying that the figure wouldn't follow him.

"Help!" he yelled, completely disregarding the fact that it was in the middle of the night. "Somebody help me! Please!"

The figure stood in the doorway, watching as the koopa troopa ran. At the sight of this, he chuckled maniacally.

"That's right little koopa troopa," he said. "Run away like the coward you are."

The figure headed back into the store. He walked down the aisles, an evil grin present on his face.

"But don't worry," the figure said. "You'll get your body back soon enough. For it's not yours I am after. You see, I desire something different."

The figure looked up at the shelf, and saw that on it sat a plushie of Ludwig.

"Something...special," the figure said darkly.


	2. 2 Songs Ablaze

Chapter 2 Songs Ablaze

The next morning was a quiet morning for most. Many members of the Koopa Kingdom were just going about their daily lives. No one noticed that a koopa troopa had his body stolen in the middle of the night. And if they did notice, they didn't seem to care.

In Bowser's Castle, one person who was enjoying the peace and quiet that this morning brought was Ludwig. Ludwig was in a particularly happy mood, which for him was pretty rare. He lived with six biological siblings and one adopted sibling, so his days could get extremely hectic. He had to take advantage of peaceful days when he could, otherwise, he would get angry and agitated. Ludwig was known for being hot-headed, which could be a bit of a problem considering that he had powers that drew influence from his anger.

Ludwig was one of the rare koopas in the modern Koopa Kingdom known as "special koopas." Special koopas are born with superpowers and are the most powerful koopas in the land, more powerful than the magikoopas and even King Bowser himself. It is very rare for a special koopa to be born in modern times, but even more rare for a special to have more than one power. Ludwig prided himself for the fact that he had four powers: flight, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and electricity manipulation. Those last two draw influence from Ludwig's anger, so he has to be extremely careful when in intense situations.

Aside from being a special koopa, Ludwig was also a very talented composer and songwriter. People would flock from all over the kingdom to hear his symphonies. Because of this, Ludwig often wrote songs for fun. And on this day, when his mood was notably good, he was feeling inspired. He had a song playing in his head and he just had to get it down on paper. So, he was in his room, writing down a song and singing it while he did.

"_I've been to many places _

_Around the world_

_It's kind of an extensive list_

_I've seen_

_World 5, World 6, and Pipe Land too_

_But I've never seen a place like this_

_To say it's logical_

_Would be a straight up lie_

_But if you wanna see it_

_Experience it_

_Then come with me and try_

_To take a walk on the wild…_

"Morning Ludwig!"

Ludwig was so frightened by the sound of Lemmy's voice that he fell off the edge of his bed. Bowser had recently forced Lemmy and Ludwig to share a room together. Lemmy had been ecstatic, but Ludwig had been less than thrilled. He objected by saying that he needed privacy. Besides, Lemmy might upset him and trigger his powers. Bowser only said that Ludwig could take this as an opportunity to learn to control himself, and Ludwig had grumbled about this outcome for about two weeks afterward.

"Whoops, sorry about that," said Lemmy sheepishly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Ludwig only grunted as he got back up on the bed. This wasn't the first time Lemmy had frightened him, and he was willing to bet good money that it wasn't going to be the last either.

"Hey Ludwig, I came up with a new joke, wanna hear it?" asked Lemmy once Ludwig had gotten back up on the bed.

"No," said Ludwig bluntly, even though he knew Lemmy would tell him anyway.

"Alright," said Lemmy. "Why are the actors in a space-themed movie so great?"

Ludwig raised his eyebrow at his brother.

"Go on, just guess," said Lemmy with a smile on his face.

Ludwig continued to stare at Lemmy. Then he sighed.

"Because their performances are 'out of this world?'" he asked irritably.

"Yeah," said Lemmy. "That and the intricate costume designs really help them to be the 'stars' of the show!"

Lemmy laughed, a sound that might seem charming to some but grating to others. Ludwig was one of those who found it grating. He rolled his eyes.

"What do you think?" asked Lemmy. "Pretty funny, huh?"

"You're hilarious," Ludwig said sarcastically as he leaned over his paper again.

"Really," said Lemmy. "I was trying to be more hi 'Lemmy' ous."

Lemmy chuckled again. He absolutely loved puns. He loved them almost as much as he loved the circus, which he wanted to join in the future. Ludwig, however, couldn't stand them; they very rarely made him laugh. Lemmy was oblivious to this though, which meant that Ludwig was often the one who had to hear the jokes first. Feeling annoyed, he walked out of the room into the hall. Curious, Lemmy followed him.

"Hey, where are you going?" Lemmy asked as he followed Ludwig.

"Out," said Ludwig.

"What are you going to do when you're 'out?' Lemmy asked.

Ludwig's annoyance started to turn into anger. Electricity crackled and popped in the air, sounding like popcorn popping in the microwave.

"Nothing," Ludwig said through gritted teeth.

"Well, I know that's not true," said Lemmy. "Whenever people try to do nothing, they often do things like breathing or thinking. But from past experience, whenever _you_ say that you're going to do nothing, you often just say that so you can get out of the room and do something."

There was a moment of silence.

"WHAT IS THAT SOMETHING?!" Lemmy yelled as he stared at Ludwig with wide eyes.

Ludwig sighed. He knew that there was no use trying to beat Lemmy. He was too persistent. If he didn't tell Lemmy what he was going to do now, then Lemmy would continue to badger him until he snapped.

"Fine, if you really want to know," said Ludwig as he showed Lemmy the paper, "I have a song that I'm working on."

"Ooh, can I look at it?" Lemmy asked as he snatched the paper out of Ludwig's hand. He didn't even wait to hear Ludwig's response.

"Oh sure, be my guest," said Ludwig caustically as Lemmy examined the notes to the unfinished song.

"Hmm," Lemmy said. "C-A-B-D-E-C. Hey." He chuckled. "That spells 'cab deck.'"

Ludwig took the paper back.

"Needless to say it's not exactly 'concert ready' yet," he said and began walking down a staircase. Lemmy watched as Ludwig waltzed down the stairs, and an idea started to form. He sat on the railing and slid down so that he could catch up with Ludwig.

"Hey, I just had a great idea!" Lemmy said while sliding. He wasn't paying attention though, so when he reached the bottom he crashed landed. Concerned, Ludwig flew down the rest of the steps and knelt down on the floor to see if Lemmy was okay. Luckily, Lemmy wasn't severely hurt; he just felt a little disoriented. He shook his head, glanced at Ludwig, and smiled.

"Why don't I help you write it?" he asked.

Now that it was clear that Lemmy was okay, Ludwig's annoyance returned. He scoffed.

"You?" he asked.

"Yeah, it could be fun," Lemmy responded. "I've never written a song before, and I think it could be a fun experience."

"Well, it's not an experience that you're going to have with me," said Ludwig as he resumed with walking down the hall.

"What? Why not?" asked Lemmy. Ludwig stopped in his tracks.

"Uh, because I value my sanity?" he said as he glanced at Lemmy.

"Why?" Lemmy retorted. "I mean, with how crazy life can get, you're probably going to lose it before you turn thirty anyway."

Now Ludwig felt the slightest hint of amusement. It wasn't a jubilant amusement, it was an aggressive one. It was the kind of amusement that a little kid feels when they tell on their siblings or the kind that someone would feel when they are challenged to a fistfight after exchanging clever insults.

"Wow," said Ludwig. "You just know exactly what to say to me today, don't you?"

"Come on, Ludwig," said Lemmy pleadingly. "Can I please help you write the song? I promise that I'll do a good job."

"I'm sorry," said Ludwig, "but the answer is no."

Lemmy felt dejected, which he didn't like. He didn't see the point of emotions like sadness and anger. That was why he rarely got sad and almost never got angry. If life threw unpleasant circumstances his way, he combatted them with smiles. He felt negative emotions so little that the experience was almost foreign to him.

Needless to say, Lemmy wanted to do something about Ludwig's refusal. So, without second thoughts, he rushed over, seized the song from Ludwig's hand, and broke into a run.

"Hey!" yelled Ludwig. Bright blue flames started to twirl around and caress his arms. He hurled a small blast of fire in Lemmy's direction, but it didn't hit him. It wasn't intended to hit him; Ludwig would never intentionally hurt any of his siblings in a serious way. Lemmy knew this, so the fireball didn't pose much of a threat. He just made sure to pick up the pace a little bit.

Ludwig flew after Lemmy. He wanted to grab the paper via telekinesis but was afraid of tearing it. Ludwig knew that he could stop Lemmy if he put obstacles in his way, so he telekinetically moved a long table. It was on its side so that the top would block Lemmy's path. Ludwig expected that to stop Lemmy; however, to Ludwig's surprise, he managed to jump over it. For the shortest member of the Koopalings, Lemmy was impressively athletic.

Ludwig attempted to put more obstacles in Lemmy's path, but they didn't even faze him. This caused Ludwig to grow madder and madder. His entire body was starting to be consumed by blue flames, and the lights overhead began to flicker. Ludwig started throwing fireballs and lightning bolts but Lemmy wouldn't stop. By the time that Lemmy reached the entrance hall, Ludwig was completely engulfed in fire.

"GIVE ME BACK MY SONG!" Ludwig bellowed.

"No!" screamed Lemmy.

Now Ludwig was so angry he could feel his blood turning into steam. He slowly flew to Lemmy with the intention to intimidate but not to harm. He started to form a ball of electricity in his hand.

"Ludwig, stop it!"

It was Morton. Morton was known for being calm and collected, but he was viewing this scene with a look of pure horror on his face. This was enough to break threw Ludwig's temper. The fire that consumed him started to die, and he let the ball of electricity disappear. Morton took a deep breath, regaining his composure.

"Now," he said. "I'm not sure what this is about, but I do know one thing. Ludwig, you using your powers to threaten Lemmy is completely uncalled for."

"Morton, I wasn't going to hurt him," Ludwig protested.

"I know that," said Morton. "But you shouldn't even be making the threat." He turned to Lemmy. "And Lemmy, you know how dangerous Ludwig's powers can be when he is provoked, so you need to act mature. That goes for you as well, Ludwig. Both of you have the mental capacity to act maturely."

Ludwig and Lemmy hung their heads. They knew he was right, and what was embarrassing was the fact that Morton was younger than both of them. If there was anybody they should be receiving this lecture from, it shouldn't be their younger brother.

"Guys, look," Morton continued. "I know that the transition of you two sharing a room has been stressful. But can you at least make an attempt at getting along?"

Suddenly, the door to the castle opened, and in entered the koopa troopa from the night before. When Lemmy, Ludwig, and Morton saw him, they marveled at his shadowy appearance and started to wonder. What was he? Where did he come from? What was he doing in the castle? Was he friend or foe?

"Excuse me," said the koopa troopa in a frightened voice, "but I am in desperate need of help."


	3. 3 The Snatcher's Identity

Chapter 3 The Snatcher's Identity

The koopa troopa tried to explain his situation to the Koopalings, but it was hard work considering that he didn't fully understand it. In addition to that, he had been hyperventilating in a way that prevented him from being productive in storytelling. Nevertheless, the Koopalings had been sympathetic towards him. They all decided that they should find out what or who the snatcher is and try to get the koopa troopa's body back. So, they all headed out, and the koopa troopa was extremely grateful.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, a million times thank you!" the koopa troopa said as they walked toward his hometown. "I've been all around the kingdom and nobody took the time to believe me. Just my appearance was enough to scare them out of their wits."

"I can see why," said Wendy as she took another look at the koopa troopa. "Whatever swapped with you has a very off putting appearance."

"Anyway, don't mention it," said Iggy. "We are more than willing to help out. I have a hunch as to what the snatcher is, but I am not one hundred percent sure. I'll need to interact with it firsthand."

Meanwhile, Lemmy was busy. He wanted to prove to Ludwig once and for all that he could write a song. So, he had brought along a marker and was writing a song down on his arm. He didn't take the time to worry about the notes, the tempo, or the rhythm; the only thing that he was concerned about was the lyrics. He wrote as fast as he could, which caused his handwriting to look like nothing more than unorganized scribbles. When he was finished, he cleared his throat.

"Everyone," he said, "I have a song that I want to share with you."

"You wrote a song, Lems?" asked Larry. Ludwig groaned.

"Yep," said Lemmy with a grin. "And I have to say that I am rather proud of it. I think that you'll all enjoy it." With that, Lemmy started singing.

_We're going down the road_

_Eight koopas but no toads_

_Except one koopa is a shadow...thingy_

_We're gonna help him out_

_And excuse me if I shout_

_That we're gonna get back his BODY!_

Ludwig cringed. Lemmy was actually a decent singer; he had a very smooth soprano voice and could carry a tune fairly well. The song, however, was not the best to demonstrate his skills. The last note was off key, and he held it for a while. And the overall song was loud; Ludwig speculated that it was loud enough to break glass.

"Well, there you have it," said Lemmy eagerly. "What did you guys think?"

The Koopalings exchanged looks. They liked the song about as much as Ludwig had.

"Um..it was certainly interesting," said Larry.

"It does need a few improvements," said Iggy. "But for a first effort, it was...tolerable. It was kind of reminiscent of commercial jingles."

Lemmy beamed.

"Aw, thanks you guys," he said. He approached Ludwig. "So Ludwig, do you think you can let me write a song with you now?"

Ludwig snorted. If he wasn't going to let Lemmy help him before, he definitely wasn't going to do it now.

"I'd rather drink liquid nitrogen then write a song with you," he said with a toxic tone. Lemmy's mood dropped like a bomb. How could Ludwig say no? The others had given him positive feedback. Was Ludwig so set in his mind that he wasn't going to budge? Or...did Ludwig not like him? Lemmy didn't want that to be the case. He loved Ludwig. He was Lemmy's older brother. His **only **older brother.

"There he is," said the koopa troopa as he pointed across the way.

The Koopalings looked where he was pointing, and saw a koopa troopa standing outside a house. He had a rock in his hand and had his eyes on the window.

"Hey!" the koopa troopa yelled. "What do you think you're doing?"

The snatcher glanced at the group and smiled in the most sinister way.

"Well well well," he said. "If it isn't the Koopalings. It sure is a pleasure to meet celebrities."

Iggy stepped forward. The look in his eyes meant business.

"Excuse me," he said, "but I believe that you took something that belongs to this gentleman right here. Would you mind giving it back?"

The snatcher chuckled.

"Sure, I don't see why not," he said. "I was getting a little carried away with my felonies, anyway."

The snatcher snapped his fingers, and just like that the koopa troopa transformed from a purple shadow back into a regular being. The snatcher, on the other hand, became a silhouette. The koopa troopa looked happier than a cat who found catnip.

"Yes!" he cried joyfully. "You guys did it!"

The snatcher seemed to melt into the floor. Less than a second later, he reemerged. Except he was no longer a purple silhouette. Now he was a ghost that had a large white sheet draped over his head. His eyes were his most terrifying feature. They glowed a deep red, and they seemed to penetrate the soul. If one were to stare into those eyes for long enough, they would feel all their joys and pleasures be snatched away, only to be replaced by pain. The ghost wore a bow tie and a party hat, which looked odd when juxtaposed against the menacing, evil eyes.

"Oh my goodness!" said Iggy with excitement. "It's a duplighost! They're supposed to be very rare; I've never actually seen one in person!"

The duplighost smiled, displaying a treasure trove of sharp teeth that could bite straight down to the bone. They made him look almost vampiric. The Koopalings felt chills run down their spines.

"Iggy, I think we should get going," said Roy nervously.

Iggy nodded. Despite his excitement at seeing a duplighost for the first time, he too was feeling nervous. The Koopalings started walking away, but the duplighost threw them for a loop. He created a force field made out of pure dark magic around the area, which prevented the Koopalings and the koopa troopa from escaping.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" said the duplighost in an amused, taunting way. "If you guys want to leave, you'll have to go through me first."

Now the Koopalings weren't just nervous, they were downright terrified; however, they weren't the kind of people who walked away from fights.

"Larry, Lemmy, protect the koopa troopa," said Iggy. "The rest of us will deal with the duplighost."

Roy rushed toward the duplighost at full speed. He was about to ram into him when the duplighost slid out of the way. Roy looked around, baffled, then felt a kick in the back. He toppled over backwards and heard the duplighost cackle cruelly.

Next, Wendy and Morton gave it a go. Wendy took one of her rings and made it expand to about four times its normal size. She threw it at the duplighost, and it encircled him. The ring began to shrink around the duplighost, trapping him within it. He struggled to get free, but his efforts were fruitless. Morton went into his shell and with the speed of a cheetah he slammed into the duplighost, sending him face first into the ground. Wendy and Morton high fived each other.

The duplighost realized that he was too weak on the ground, where the group could gang up on him. He needed a new strategy. With that, he flew up into the air. This meant that the battle was just between him and Ludwig. Summoning all the rage that he could muster, Ludwig sent a boatload of fireballs in the duplighost's direction. With expert maneuvering the duplighost managed to dodge all of them. Ludwig, feeling even madder, flew upwards and sent a huge lightning bolt at the duplighost, but he teleported out of the way before it hit him. Ludwig gawked, completely amazed by this creature's magical abilities.

Lemmy was watching the fight up in the air with awe. Like Ludwig, he was impressed at how versatile and skilled the duplighost was with magic. He had a feeling that Ludwig would need some extra support if he was going to win this brawl. Lemmy ran forward and started cheering Ludwig on.

"Come on Ludwig, you can do it!" he yelled. He proceeded with cheering. "Ludwig Ludwig, you're the best! You can pass this mean ghost's test! You have awesome powers too! And you should know I believe in you!"

Ludwig began to feel annoyed. He knew that Lemmy was doing it to help him, but the cheering was getting on his nerves. And he needed his nerves to be as steady as possible if he wanted to win. Growling, he turned around.

"Will you be quiet?" he yelled down to Lemmy. "I'm trying to concentrate…"

Ludwig was then kicked in the back by the duplighost. Screaming, he fell down to the ground. The duplighost floated down after him with a nasty sneer on his face.

"Enough child's play," he said. "Time to finish this."

The duplighost melted into the ground again, and this time reemerged as a purple silhouette of Ludwig. He formed a ball of light in his hands and threw it. The agony that Ludwig went through when hit was unbearable. He felt like his skin had been ripped off and somebody had decided to give him a shower with battery acid. Ludwig had to take all of his self control to keep from screaming. The others watched the display in shock.

"Finally," said the duplighost. "I've been waiting for this moment ever since I heard of your existence. In less than a minute, I'll be the most powerful koopa in the Koopa Kingdom. I'll be able to do whatever I want, and no one will be able to stop me!"

Despite the pain, Ludwig was still able to think. He knew that shouldn't happen. It wouldn't happen, if he had anything to say about it. Channeling his anger, he could feel the electricity growing around him.

"Not...on my...watch!" he said. With that, he let the electricity go nuts. Mixed with the duplighost's magic, it sent a bunch of magical blasts hurling in every direction. The other Koopalings put their hands over their heads in fear of getting hit. Unfortunately, Lemmy was in too much shock, so when a magical blast flew directly at him, he couldn't move. It was as if he was rooted to the ground.

The magical blast hit Lemmy square in the face. When it did a bridge of sorts formed, connecting Lemmy and Ludwig. There was a blinding flash, and suddenly all of the magic disappeared. Lemmy and Ludwig were lying on the ground, and the duplighost had his hand on his head, as if he were attempting to deal with dizziness. Once the duplighost spotted Lemmy and Ludwig, seemingly unharmed, he scowled at the Koopalings.

"You guys may have won this time," he said. "But trust me when I say that next time won't be so easy." With a snap of his fingers, he teleported away. The Koopalings raced toward their brothers, and Iggy started checking their pulses and breathing rates.

"Are they alright?" Wendy asked in concern. Once he felt Ludwig's pulse, Iggy smiled.

"Yes, they're fine," he said. "They're just unconscious. I don't suspect that there'll be any negative repercussions from this event, but I can run some tests once they wake up just to be sure."

Iggy got up and turned to the rest of his siblings.

"We had better head back to Bowser's Castle," he said. The others nodded, and Morton hoisted Lemmy on his shoulders while Roy put Ludwig over his.

"Well that turned out better than I expected," said Roy heartily. Larry looked a little concerned.

"Uh Roy, I think you might want to be careful," he said. Roy scoffed.

"Oh please," he said. "Since when am I not careful?" The second he finished saying that, he tripped on a stone. He turned around, aggravated.

"Man," he said. "I'd like to talk to the idiot who put _that _there."

Roy glanced at Larry, and saw that he was giving him a raised eyebrow.

"But in the meantime I'll...take your advice."

With that, the Koopalings marched back toward the castle. Iggy had suggested that they let Lemmy and Ludwig sleep in their room. That way they could wake up to something familiar and not receive a complete shock to the system. So, Morton placed Lemmy in his bed, and Roy placed Ludwig in his.

At least, that's what they thought happened.


	4. 4 Lemmy is Ludwig, Ludwig is Lemmy?

Chapter 4 Lemmy is Ludwig, Ludwig is Lemmy?

Ludwig felt a little groggy when he started to come around. He sat up in bed and blinked his eyes, trying to make the room come into focus. He felt strange. Not bad just...strange. He wasn't sure if he liked that. It was then that he noticed that he was lying in Lemmy's bed.

Ludwig shook his head and tried to remember why he might have ended up there. The last thing that he could recall was getting into a fight with some kind of creature. It was a ghost with soul killing eyes and a conical party hat. What was it called? Oh that's right, a duplighost; that's what Iggy had called it.

Ludwig realized that at some point during the fight, he must have been knocked out. He imagined that either Morton or Roy had carried him to his room on their shoulders. But why would they put him in Lemmy's bed? Lemmy's bed had a white comforter with rainbow colored polka dots and was adorned with at least ten sock monkeys. Ludwig's bed, on the other hand, had a dark blue comforter and an oil painting hanging over the headboard. If Morton and Roy couldn't identify whose bed was whose, then they clearly didn't know their siblings as well as they should.

Ludwig got out of the bed and down on the floor. That was when he noticed something different. Everything in the room looked...bigger. He had absolutely no idea how that was the case. Did he shrink? He hoped not; that would be embarrassing. Ludwig was still trying to rationalize what was going on when he noticed writing on his arm. Ludwig read the writing and initially thought it was some kind of joke. It was Lemmy's song. Why was it written on his arm? Did his siblings think it would be funny? He didn't see why it would be there of all places.

_Hold on,_ he thought. _Lemmy wrote the song on his arm. If it's on my arm, and everything looks bigger, than that must mean..._

Ludwig's eyes grew wide as he started to put the pieces together. Frightened, he went to the window, which was the closest thing that served as a mirror in the room. When Ludwig saw his reflection, he stifled a shriek. It wasn't him looking back through the glass. It was Lemmy!

With fear rattling his nerves, Ludwig examined the reflection in the window. Yep, it was undoubtedly Lemmy. To the large oval eyes to the protruded snout to the rainbow mohawk. Ludwig's mind began to race. How was this possible? Why was he Lemmy? How was he Lemmy? What did he do to deserve this?!

Suddenly, Ludwig heard rustling of bed covers. It occurred to him that if he was Lemmy, then a rocket scientist wasn't needed to find out who Lemmy was. He apprehensively creeped toward his bed and pulled back the sheets. There, lying on the bed, was Ludwig. Or Lemmy in Ludwig's body. Ludwig put "his" hand over "his" mouth. Then, he started to shake his brother.

"Lemmy, wake up," he said, and was both shocked and relieved to hear his own voice escape from Lemmy's throat. Really, he would have been shocked to hear any voice, but at least he would have been expecting Lemmy's. Lemmy groaned but didn't move.

"Lemmy, I'm not kidding around; you need to wake up," Ludwig said as he shook harder. Lemmy merely swatted at him.

Ludwig began to grow frustrated. Was it really this hard to wake Lemmy up? That was when he spotted his flute case beside his bed. He took the mouthpiece out and blew into it, creating an ear splitting sound. Lemmy shrieked and sprang out of the bed onto the floor. Ludwig smiled a little bit, considering that as payback for when Lemmy had scared him out of bed that morning.

"Man Ludwig," said Lemmy from on the floor. "I know I'm not a morning person, but do you have to use a flute as an alarm? You might as well have used a megaphone."

Ludwig felt his heart stop at the sound of Lemmy's high pitched, almost feminine voice. The sound of it coming out of his mouth was off putting.

"Lemmy," he said, "will you mind looking at me for a second?"

Lemmy got up off the floor and got a chance to look at Ludwig. At the sight of his brother, Lemmy's eyes grew wide.

"Woah," he said. Then he smiled. "Did Iggy make some sort of miniature robot?"

Lemmy approached Ludwig, who was feeling frightened and baffled, and picked him up.

"Cool!" he said. "He got all the details just right!"

Ludwig started squirming.

"Lemmy, put me down!" he cried. Lemmy felt confused.

"Hmm," he said. "The choice of having it speak with Ludwig's voice is a little odd." Lemmy started turning Ludwig left and right, inspecting him. "Is there a switch to change that?"

Ludwig squirmed a little bit more and managed to wriggle free.

"Lemmy, I'm not a robot!" he said. "I actually am Ludwig!"

The confused look on "Lemmy's" face grew more confused.

"You're Ludwig?" he asked. He crossed his arms. "How do I know that Iggy didn't just program you to say that?"

Ludwig sighed.

"Alright, you want proof?" he said. "Fine. My full name is Ludwig Vanessa Koopa but I like to tell people that it is Ludwig von Koopa. My birthday is June 14th and my favorite color is blue. I like to write songs for fun. The most recent one that I'm working on is 'The Koopa Kingdom's Wild Side,' but I've also worked on others such as 'A Familiar Stranger' and 'The Effects of Procrastination.' This morning you wanted to write a song with me, but I said no so you wrote one on your own."

Lemmy still felt unsure. All the facts that he was presenting were true; however, Iggy could have programmed him to say all of that stuff. Iggy was well aware of all that he was saying after all.

"Huh," Lemmy said. "I don't know."

"Oh for crying out loud," Ludwig said. "Okay, to prove once and for all that Iggy did not program me, I'll tell you something he has no knowledge of. Remember that year you went all out for April Fool's and you pulled that prank that involved sour cream, fire flower petals, and Junior's bed?"

"Lemmy's" eyes grew bigger than the ball he liked to balance on.

"Oh my," he said quietly. "Ludwig, is that…?"

"Yes, it's me." said Ludwig with a weak smile. Lemmy felt and looked shocked.

"But...why do you look like me?" he asked.

"I can ask you the same question," Ludwig stated.

"You...can?" Lemmy asked. That was when he noticed that he was wearing Ludwig's blue cape with the jasper button. He also noticed that he seemed to have grown; he was so distracted by the conversation with Ludwig and being abruptly woken up that he had failed to notice before. Panic started to fill his mind like air fills the lungs, and he ran over to the window. When he saw Ludwig's face staring back at him, he let out a little scream and turned back toward his brother.

"I'm you!" he cried.

"I know," Ludwig responded.

"And you're me!" Lemmy said.

"_I know_!" said Ludwig.

"How did this happen?" Lemmy asked distraughtly.

"I DON'T KNOW!" yelled Ludwig. Feeling dispirited, he sat down on the edge of his bed. This couldn't be happening. Why did this have to happen? To him and Lemmy no less?

"Ludwig," Lemmy said as he sat down next to him, "you didn't do this, did you?"

Ludwig snorted.

"Lemmy, I have many powers," he said. "But being able to swap people's bodies is not one of them."

That statement caused a connection to form in Ludwig's brain. He got up and started pacing around, trying to remember exactly what happened during the fight with the duplighost.

"Then what could have caused this?" Lemmy asked. "Did Iggy perform some sort of experiment on us? Is this a spell of Kamek's? I don't know about all of the spells that magikoopas are able to do, but I'm sure that something like this is in their books."

Ludwig shook his head. He and Iggy had studied the various spells that magikoopas could perform a year ago, from teleportation to making objects materialize to creating clones of people.

"No, they don't," he said. "The closest thing that they have to this is transformation spells, but even then they can't make you look like somebody who actually exists. Now can you be quiet? I'm trying to think."

Ludwig remembered that the duplighost had thrown magic at him and tried to do a swap. What happened next was a little fuzzy, but he did remembered trying to generate electricity in an attempt to escape. After that his memory failed him.

"Lemmy," he said. "Do you know what happened during the fight with the duplighost?"

Lemmy looked bewildered.

"I..I don't remember," he said. "I know that there were a lot of flashing lights, but other than that the whole thing was kind of a blur."

Ludwig approached Lemmy. Flashing lights. Now they were starting to get somewhere.

"Do you remember why there were flashing lights?" he asked. Lemmy looked down at the floor, trying to place it in his mind.

"I…" he hesitated.

"Come on Lemmy, think," said Ludwig imploringly. "I know it might be hard, but we've gotta remember this."

Lemmy put his hand to his head, as if that would cause the neurons to connect.

"I...I think that there were a bunch of magical blasts flying around," he said. "Yeah, I think that was what happened. I vaguely remember a magical blast coming right towards me. I think getting hit is what knocked me out."

Ludwig nodded, his brain rapidly making connections.

"That blast," he said. "That must have been what switched us!" Ludwig then glared at Lemmy. "Why didn't you get out of the way when you saw it coming?"

"I think I was in shock," Lemmy replied. Ludwig gawked.

"Shock?" he said angrily. "You were in shock?" Ludwig started massaging "his" temples and let out a sigh. "Lemmy, if you weren't in my body right now, I would kill you."

"But can you blame me?" asked Lemmy defensively. "I was right in the line of fire. Anybody could have reacted the same way; it was a fear response."

Ludwig realized that he was being a little unreasonable. He let out a breath to calm himself down.

"No, you're right, I'm sorry," he said gently. "We just need to figure out what to do next."

Lemmy chuckled.

"Well, I don't think there is much of a question in that," he said with a smile. "We go to Iggy!"

Ludwig knew that what Lemmy was saying was true. While Kamek was powerful, Ludwig knew for a fact that he didn't have the right spell to help them. Even if he did, Ludwig wouldn't trust Kamek's magic with something like this. Iggy's science, on the other hand…

"You're right," Ludwig said. "If there is anybody who could be able to fix this, it would be him." So, the two of them left the room and went to Iggy's lab.


	5. 5 The Search Begins (For Iggy)

Chapter 5 The Search Begins (for Iggy)

If Lemmy and Ludwig had simply come to Iggy and told him that they swapped bodies, he wouldn't have believed them. He would have just laughed the idea off, presumed that they were being silly. But when Ludwig came to Iggy's lab speaking with Lemmy's voice and vice versa, there was no way to deny what they were saying was true. Iggy felt absolutely horrified at this development. The rest of the Koopalings questioned the two of them in disbelief.

"So wait," said Wendy. "You're saying that you're Ludwig.." she pointed at Ludwig… "and you're Lemmy?" She pointed at Lemmy.

"Yep," said Ludwig.

"But how can Ludwig be Lemmy and Lemmy be Ludwig?" asked Roy confusedly. "I always thought that Ludwig was Ludwig and Lemmy was Lemmy. Now you're telling me that I've been wrong my whole life?" Roy scratched his head. "Are there are other things I'm wrong about? Are tables really called chairs and chairs called tables? Does everyone else in the world see red the same way I do? OH, THIS WHOLE THING IS MAKING MY BRAIN HURT!"

Ludwig rolled his eyes.

"No Roy, tables aren't chairs and chairs aren't tables," he said. "This is just a temporary change."

"But while we're on the subject of that color question," Lemmy said, "everything still looks the same color that it normally does. My shell is still orange and Ludwig's cloak is still blue. So at least Ludwig and I see color the same way."

This drew Iggy out of his shock just enough to cause him to start questioning.

"What could have caused this?" he asked feebly.

"Well," said Ludwig, "Lemmy and I think the duplighost was the culprit."

"Yeah," said Lemmy. "Remember how Ludwig activated his electricity and sent a bunch of magical blasts everywhere? We think we got swapped when one of them hit me."

Iggy considered this.

"Hmm," he said. "The negative charge of the electric current mixed with the positive charge of the duplighost's powers." Iggy smiled slightly. "That just might do the trick."

"Okay," said Ludwig. "You just confirmed our theory Iggy. Now can you switch us back?"

Iggy looked consternated.

"I...I don't know how," he said.

"WHAT!" Lemmy and Ludwig cried in unison.

"What do you mean you don't know how?" asked Lemmy.

"Yeah Iggy, you're a scientist," said Roy. "Can't you throw them in some sort of giant blender or something?"

Iggy glared at Roy, annoyed by his ignorance.

"It's not that simple," said Iggy sternly. Then he addressed the whole group. "While my machinery is highly developed, there is only so much that it can do. If I tried to dabble with Ludwig and Lemmy's minds, for example, the results could be disastrous. At best, they could experience cognitive degeneration at an earlier age. At worst, they could enter vegetative states, and neither of which are risks that I want to take."

"So...so we're stuck like this?" Ludwig asked in concern.

"Well, for the time being...yes," said Iggy as he hung his head.

"No!" cried Lemmy. Ludwig shook his head.

"Great," he said sarcastically. "Great! This is just perfect!" He started to walk away from the group, and Lemmy became distraught.

"No," Lemmy repeated. "We can't stay like this; I want to be me! I don't want to be a different person. It sounds hard."

"Oh, you think you have it bad?" Ludwig asked as he turned to face his brother. "I've got a hard enough time dealing with your puns! I don't want to be stuck in this ragdoll for the rest of my life."

"Ragdoll?" Lemmy said in surprise as he approached Ludwig. "I'm no ragdoll. If anything, I'm a rainbow colored teddy bear. Besides, my body is a lot more comfortable than yours."

"Well at least mine doesn't supply me with the worry of getting squashed by micro goombas!" Ludwig yelled angrily. Wendy, not wanting a fight to start, got between the two of them.

"Alright, that's enough," she said. "Just because Iggy doesn't have a solution doesn't mean there isn't one."

"Exactly," said Iggy. "And if we are going to find said solution, then we need to avoid being belligerent."

Ludwig and Lemmy shared a look and went back over to the rest of the Koopalings.

Once they were seated, Iggy smiled.

"Now," he said, "does anyone have any suggestions?"

Larry thought about this.

"Well," he started, "the duplighost played a part in creating this problem. Maybe he can also play a role in fixing it?"

Iggy's smile grew brighter.

"Great idea, Larry!" he said. "If we can find the duplighost and create the same scenario with the same variables, maybe we can reverse the effects of the spell."

Lemmy felt a lump form in his throat. The switch had occurred because Ludwig had used his powers and they counteracted the duplighost's. Would he be able to do the same thing? There was no doubt in his mind that he had Ludwig's powers; the only problem is that he had no idea how they worked. He didn't know how to activate the power that he wanted or how to control any of the powers at his disposal.

"But where is the duplighost?" asked Wendy.

"Well, in order to answer that question, I think a search should be conducted," Iggy said. "I'll tell some of our soldiers to start exploring the area, and I'll join the hunt myself."

"So will I," said Larry as he stood up.

"Me too," said Roy. "How hard can it be to search the entire world for one person?"

Iggy shook his head.

"No," he said. "It's too dangerous for all of us to go, especially with Lemmy and Ludwig in their current condition. I'd recommend that all of you stay here, and if the duplighost is found then we'll reunite, alright?"

Lemmy and Ludwig exchanged a look. They didn't like how Iggy said "if" the duplighost is found instead of "when."

"Okay," said Iggy as he headed toward the lab entrance. "I'll be back soon. Stay out of trouble." With that, he exited the lab. Roy scoffed.

"You know," he said, "I don't think Iggy needs to go looking for the ghostie thing. I've already got a way to switch them back."

"You do?" asked Larry in surprise. Roy chuckled.

"Yep, I do," he said. He put his hands on Lemmy and Ludwig's shoulders and brought them to an open area of the lab. "You know, Iggy thinks that all that science mumbo jumbo is the solution to everything. But you know what? Sometimes, the only way to solve a problem is through sheer...brute...force!"

"Wait a second," said Wendy, "Roy, you're not gonna…?"

"Okay guys," said Roy as he made Lemmy and Ludwig face each other, "brace for impact!" Before either of them could object, Roy banged Lemmy and Ludwig's heads together. They both yelled "ow" very loudly and fell to the ground, kind of like how two cars topple over backwards when they crash into each other at full speed. Ludwig sat up and examined Lemmy incredulously.

"Didn't work, I'm still a midget," he said sarcastically. Lemmy also sat up and rubbed his forehead.

"Huh. That's weird," said Roy. "I could've sworn that would worked." He put his hand on his chin. "Maybe I should try it again?"

"NO!" everyone yelled.

"No, I'd like to get my skull back in one piece, thank you very much," said Ludwig.

"Yeah Roy, to tell you the truth," said Lemmy, "I think that plan was a little 'bonkers.'" Lemmy burst out laughing while Ludwig glared at him in annoyance. It was then that the Koopalings heard somebody clearing their throat up near the lab entrance. They glanced up the stairs and saw two koopa troopa servants, a male and a female, standing in the doorway.

"We hope we're not interrupting anything important," said the male. "Why are master Lemmy and master Ludwig on the floor?"

"Oh, Shelldon, Tortuga!" said Wendy as the servants entered the lab. "Is there a problem?"

"Yes, I'm afraid that there is," Tortuga replied. "You see, there is a trio of ruffians down near the castle wall. They consist of a koopa paratroopa, a goomba, and a sledge brother."

"All that they have done so far is graffiti the walls," said Shelldon. "But Bowser is afraid that if they aren't taken care of, then they could do some more significant damage. He wants you guys to go down and take care of it."

The Koopalings froze. What? Bowser wanted them to take care of a problem? Now? How would they be able to do that?

"Why...why can't he have the guards do it?" Wendy asked nervously.

"Bowser has called all of the guards away for training," Shelldon said. "I think that is why those thugs decided to strike now."

"Besides," said Tortuga, "Bowser knows that they would be more intimidated by Ludwig then they would be of us koopa troopas anyway."

The Koopalings glanced at Lemmy. He looked like he had just been told that he was going to have a pop quiz, a pop quiz that would cost him his life if he didn't pass. The other Koopalings could feel his nervousness like it was radiating off of him.

"Yeah, I'm sure they would," said Larry so weakly it was as if his voice had shrunken.

"So," said Tortuga, "will you guys be willing to take them out?"

Wendy looked around the group. She looked at Larry. She looked at Morton. She looked at Lemmy and Ludwig. As much as she hated letting Bowser down, there was no way that they would be able to win. Not only was their best fighter out of commission, but their smartest member and tactical planner was absent as well.

"I'm sorry," said Wendy. "But I'm afraid that…"

"We'd be happy to do it!" Roy cut her off. The others gawked at him. What was he doing?

"That's awesome!" said Shelldon excitedly. "I'm sure that you guys will do great." He turned to Ludwig. "Want do you think, Lemmy?"

Ludwig, who had been doing his best to stay silent, was completely taken aback by being asked a question. He saw no way of getting out of answering it though, so he decided just do his best impression of Lemmy.

"Oh yeah, sure," he said in as high a voice as he could muster. Then he muttered under his breath, "we'll do as great as Bowser does at keeping Peach in his castle for more than a day."

Shelldon and Tortuga eyed Ludwig curiously. Ludwig's vocal range wasn't that great, so even when he did a Lemmy impression his voice was still much deeper than it should be.

"Uh, Lemmy, what's wrong with your voice?" Shelldon asked.

"Yeah, why does it sound deeper?" asked Tortuga.

Ludwig's mind raced, trying to come up with a believable answer.

"Uhh...puberty?" he said.

"Aren't you a little on the old side for that to be happening?" Tortuga asked.

Ludwig chuckled nervously.

"I'm a...late bloomer?" he said. Tortuga and Shelldon raised their eyebrows.

"How does that…?" Shelldon began. Before he could say anymore, Larry came up to them.

"Guys," he said, "it's Lemmy. Don't question it."

"Oh," said Shelldon. "Good point."

"Yeah," said Tortuga. "It's hard to argue with a rebuttal like that."

Ludwig sighed in relief and noted to thank Larry later.

"Alright, we have work to do," said Shelldon. "Good luck, everyone." With that, he and Tortuga exited the lab. Once he was sure they were far away, Ludwig turned to Roy.

"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!" he yelled.

"What?" Roy asked.

"You really think that we can fight now?" Ludwig asked. "With Lemmy and me in the state we're in?"

"Yeah Roy," said Lemmy. "If this is your idea of a joke, it's not very funny."

Roy chuckled as everyone glared at him.

"I don't even see what the big deal is," he said. "It's not like the fight is gonna be very long. All we need is for Ludwig to go out there, throw a few fireballs at the bozos, and we'll be done before it's time for dinner."

"That would work," said Ludwig through gritted teeth and with a clenched fist, "except I can't use my powers right now, you idiot!"

Roy's face fell.

"Oh," he said. "Right."

"Do you see now why saying what you said was a boneheaded decision?" Ludwig said.

Roy looked ashamed, or as ashamed as his shades covered face would allow him to look. Wendy became sympathetic towards him.

"Ludwig," she said, "you do realize that if you had just revealed to Tortuga and Shelldon that you and Lemmy had been swapped then we might not have to go fight, right?"

"Oh yeah," said Roy with a little laugh. "Who's the idiot now?"

Now it was Ludwig's turn to feel ashamed. She was right. He didn't even think of that. _Nice one, Luddy_, he thought to himself. _Way to screw things up for everyone._

"You're both idiots," said Larry. "But that doesn't matter. Right now, we have a gang that we have to defeat." With that, he walked out of the lab with Morton, Roy, and Wendy following closely behind. Ludwig lingered behind for a little bit before letting out a breath.

"Alright, let's just get this over with," he said to himself. Turning to the lab exit, he said, "Come on Lemmy, let's go." It wasn't until he was halfway up the stairs that he noticed that Lemmy wasn't behind him. Instead, he was in front of a mirror, fiddling with Ludwig's hair.

"Lemmy, what are you doing?" Ludwig inquired in frustration.

"This might not be so bad after all," said Lemmy as he turned back to his brother. "You've actually got some really nice hair, Ludwig."

"Yeah, and I intend to keep it that way," said Ludwig. "Now come on, will you leave my hair alone? We've got a job to do."

Lemmy smiled.

"Okay," he said. "I 'hair' you loud and clear." At this, Lemmy giggled immensely. Ludwig stared at him, unamused.

"Just get my tail outside before I yell at you," he said grumpily.

"Okay. Whatever you say," Lemmy said as he exited the lab. Ludwig sighed and shook his head. He hoped Iggy would find the duplighost soon. He didn't know if he could deal with this foolishness for very long.

Lemmy was already halfway down the hall by the time Ludwig emerged from the lab. Ludwig was used to flying in order to go fast, so being reduced from that to legs that are only two and a half feet tall was a real problem for him. He tried to catch up with Lemmy but was unable to; he didn't have the comfort with small legs that Lemmy had. He called out to Lemmy, who came back over to Ludwig as he stood with his hands on his knees, panting like a dehydrated dog.

"Ludwig, are you okay?" Lemmy asked in concern.

"It's like my legs are toothpicks," Ludwig said in between breaths. "How do you get around in this thing?"

Lemmy started giggling again, which spiked Ludwig's annoyance up.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," Lemmy said. "It's just...your voice coming out of my…" Lemmy burst into a raging fit of laughter. "It just sounds so funny!"

Ludwig glared at him.

"Remind me to slug you once we've switched back," he said toxically, and headed outside with Lemmy on "his" tail.


	6. 6 Powerhouse

Chapter 6 Powerhouse

The trio stood in front of the castle wall, drawing inappropriate images in graffiti. They looked like nobody in the world had ever done something on this level of genius, and they were chortling like they were watching a funny cat video. The Koopalings felt their stomachs churn when they saw them. Roy, however, just looked at the group with a smirk.

"These guys don't look so tough," he said. "We can take them out."

"You're right, Roy," said Larry. "Heck, if it was just the paratroopa and the goomba, then only _one_ of us would be able to take them out, no problem." Larry sighed. "But then there's the issue of that sledge brother."

The others nodded. Sledge brothers were tough. They were big, burly, and could send tremors through the earth just by jumping. Wendy, Ludwig, and Morton theorized that the only reason the group had a sledge brother was so that they would be able to stand their ground if they got in a fight.

"So what exactly are we supposed to do?" Ludwig asked. "Because from the way this conversation is going, we might as well start waving the white flags now."

Wendy looked back and forth between the gang and her brothers. There had to be a solution. She started brainstorming, and an idea began to form. It was a small idea, and it probably wouldn't work, but it was an idea regardless.

"Maybe we don't need to fight them," she said. The others stared at her.

"What do you mean, Wen?" asked Larry.

Wendy took a deep breath.

"Shelldon and Tortuga said that the gang would be more intimidated by Ludwig than anyone else," she said. "What if they would be so frightened by the mere sight of him that they give up before the fight even begins?"

Roy scoffed.

"Wendy, I don't know if you've seen Ludwig recently, but he isn't that intimidating," he said.

"I don't want us to use Ludwig, genius," she said. "I want us to use Lemmy."

Lemmy felt nervousness grab him like a monster grabs hold of the ankles. He didn't like that sound of that. Out of all the Koopalings, Lemmy was notable for getting the most frightened in battle. He could tolerate fighting Mario because he had a ball to balance on. Other than that, he would openly admit that he was a total coward. He didn't even like the idea of physically fighting other people.

"What? You want to use me?" Lemmy asked.

"You look exactly like Ludwig," Wendy said. "Using you would be putting our best foot forward."

Now Lemmy's tail started to curl up. He couldn't do it. There was no way that he could do it. Sure, he was their best chance at coming out victorious, but that didn't exactly give him high hopes. If he screwed up, then there was no recovering.

"But...what if something goes wrong?" he asked. "What if I'm not intimidating enough? You know my voice doesn't exactly make people shake in their boots."

"You don't have to worry about that," Wendy said. "Nothing is going to go wrong, as long as you do your best and do exactly what I say."

"Yeah Lems," said Larry. "All you have to do is go out there and pretend you know what you're doing. You know, like Roy does."

"Exactly," said Roy. Then his snout wrinkled up. "Wait, what was that?"

Lemmy let out a small breath.

"Okay," he said as he nodded his head. "I can do that."

Wendy smiled. While she had to admit that the plan wasn't entirely foolproof, even the smallest chance of it working was enough to give her, as well as most of the other Koopalings, a little confidence. Ludwig, however, wasn't so sure.

"Wait, let me get this straight," he said. "You want _Lemmy_ to go out there..._by himself_...and try to scare a street gang?"

Wendy laughed.

"No, of course not," she said. "We're going to go out there with him."

Ludwig shook his head.

"Well, we're dead," he said.

"Way to provide the emotional support there, Ludwig," said Larry.

"Oh, that's my job now?" Ludwig asked with a scoff. "Whatever."

After running Lemmy through the basic idea of what he was supposed to say and do, the Koopalings went into view of the gang. They attempted to look as confident as possible, which wasn't hard if they didn't focus on the sledge brother.

"Hey!" Wendy said.

The trio turned. They flinched a little at the sight of the Koopalings, but quickly put on cocky smiles.

"Oh no," said the goomba. "I thought that the world's worst kidnappers' convention was down the street. You guys must have the wrong address."

Roy's ego was harmed significantly by this blow. The others didn't appreciate it either. How can someone be so disrespectful toward those who are essentially the princes and princess of the Koopa Kingdom? Either way, they still weren't willing to back down. Wendy cleared her throat.

"Listen up, punks," she said. "We want you all to stop with what you're doing and leave the castle grounds. If you do that, we might consider keeping you out of the dungeons."

The paratroopa snickered.

"Oh, I'm so scared," he said. "Is that the place where you keep Princess Peach?"

Roy was about to say that they kept Princess Peach in a cage rather than the dungeons, but Wendy spoke up first.

"You guys don't want to listen to us?" she said. "Alright. Maybe you'll listen to a special instead." With that, Lemmy stepped forward, his hands curled into fists and an aggressive expression on his face. "Let me introduce you to Ludwig Vanessa…"

"AHEM!" Ludwig said from behind the group.

"Oh, sorry, Ludwig _von_ Koopa," Wendy corrected herself.

"Yeah, that's right," said Lemmy. "I'm Ludwig von Koopa. I've got superpowers, and if you don't do what we say, then I'm gonna...do...uh, _stuff_ with them!"

The gang started to chuckle.

"Dude," said the koopa paratroopa, "what's up with his voice?"

"I know, right?" said the goomba with a laugh. "He sounds like a garden gnome."

"And that's if that garden gnome was high on helium," said the sledge brother.

Lemmy hesitated. How could he respond to something like that?

"Oh yeah?" said Roy, who was becoming fed up with the insults. "Well your voice sounds like a gnome...farting!"

The gang burst out laughing. Ludwig facepalmed while the other Koopalings stared at Roy in complete amazement.

"A gnome farting?" Larry asked.

"That's the best you could come up with?" Wendy asked. Roy chuckled.

"What? I thought it sounded good," he said.

Lemmy looked from the gang, who was laughing at them like they had "loser" stamped on their foreheads, and his siblings, who were looking at Roy like he had just told them that he was going to murder Bowser. His confidence began to waver.

"Uh guys," he said quietly, "maybe we should just go back inside…"

"No!" Wendy responded. "We still have a chance here. Now come on Lemmy, say something!"

Lemmy swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat and straightened out his tail. He put on his brave face again and brandished his fists.

"You guys laugh now," he said as he stepped forward. "But will you be laughing when I burn your faces…"

Before he could say anything more, he tripped over Ludwig's feet. He hit the ground like a sack of onions and could feel embarrassment fall on top of him like a pickup truck. The trio resumed with the laughter.

"Wow," said the koopa paratroopa as he gulf clapped. "Bravo."

"You guys really think you can scare us with that pathetic display?" asked the goomba. The sledge brother snickered.

"I don't think I've seen anything sadder in all the Mushroom World," he said. "And I've played 'Sonic Boom.'"

Now Roy couldn't take it anymore. There was only so much battering his ego could take before it shattered like glass.

"You guys wanna beating?" he said. "Well so be it!" With that, he rushed toward the trio with his fists out. He was yelling at the top of his voice and was feeling confident. So what if one of the members was a sledge brother? He could take them. He was strong, he was a good fighter, he…

When he reached the trio, the sledge brother grabbed a hold of Roy's fist. Grinning wickedly, he kicked Roy in the stomach, sending him careening into the side of the castle. His back aching and his vision blurred, Roy laid down on the ground, a horrible sense of defeat creeping into his consciousness.

The Koopalings viewed the display with a sense of dread. How could they stand up to somebody who could do that to Roy? The sledge brother didn't even look fazed.

"Okay," said the sledge brother. "Who's next?"

Wendy closed her eyes and curled her fist as the group's laughter pounded in her ears. They couldn't walk away from this. If they did, they would be seen as cowards.

"Alright. You guys like to laugh?" she asked as she took off one of her bracelets. "Well let's see how well you can laugh with a broken jaw!" She threw her bracelet at the paratroopa, intending for it to hit him in the face. The paratroopa merely caught it like a frisbee, and then the sledge brother walked forward. He ground pounded, sending shock waves through the ground. Wendy couldn't move; the tremors were too strong. Seeing that she was helpless, the sledge brother punched her in the face and sent her flying.

Once the shock waves dissipated, Larry and Morton rushed forward. Larry tried to fight using his feet rather than his fists like Roy did. The sledge brother, smirking, grabbed hold off his sky blue mohawk and lifted Larry off the ground. He started swinging Larry around his head like a lasso. Round and round and round he went until finally, the sledge brother let him go. He flew about twenty feet before he landed, leaving an impression in the dirt.

Morton now was feeling rather small. When the sledge brother approached him, all he could do was chuckle nervously.

"Hello," he said weakly. The sledge brother punched him in the stomach like he had done with Roy, which made him land head first into a rock. Groaning, Morton put his hand to his head. The sledge brother chuckled.

"Alright," he said as he turned to Lemmy and Ludwig. "Your turn, 'special.'"

Lemmy whimpered. He was so scared that he felt ready to faint. Ludwig, seeing how frightened Lemmy was, decided that there was only one thing to do.

"Lemmy, run!" he whispered frantically.

Lemmy took Ludwig's advice and the two of them began to run away with the gang close behind them. It took some extra work on Ludwig's part, but they managed to outrun them and duck behind a large rock after they turned a corner. With his heart in his throat, Ludwig watched as the gang barreled past the rock without so much as a second glance.

"Okay," he said, half worried and half relieved. "I think we're alright."

Lemmy wasn't alright, though. He was curled up in a little ball and had his hands over his head. He was shuddering like he had just watched a horror movie and was whimpering so much that he sounded like a puppy begging to be let back inside.

"Yeah, but they'll be back soon," he said as he glanced at his brother. "Ludwig, you've gotta do something."

"WHAT? ME?" Ludwig asked.

"Yeah, you," said Lemmy. "You've gotta go out there and fight those guys."

"HOW?" Ludwig asked. "I'm you, remember? I mean, what am I supposed to do, attack them with a bunch of puns? Because believe me, if we could do that, then everyone who's ever been within a ten mile radius of you would be dead."

Lemmy's heart sank. He was right. This was part of the reason why he disliked going into battle without his ball; it made him so nervous that he was unable to think straight.

"Well, if you can't stop them," Lemmy said, "who can?"

Ludwig gave Lemmy a look, and when he did Lemmy's nervousness tripled.

"Wait," he said. "You want me to do it?" Ludwig nodded.

"You're the one with the powers," he said. Lemmy started stuttering.

"But...but...but I've never used your powers before!" he said. "I don't know the first thing about them."

"Well, I was born with them," Ludwig pointed out. "I can teach you all that you need to know."

Lemmy's nervousness began to melt away like ice cubes in the sun. He was right. Ludwig knew his powers like he knew the back of his hand. With just a little bit of mentoring from him, Lemmy could be a powerhouse. With this in mind, Lemmy stood up, smiling and with his fists out.

"You're right!" he said. "Okay, Ludwig, what do you want to teach me first? Ooh, how about how to make that blue fire?"

"Alright, both my pyrokinesis and my electricity manipulation are fueled by anger," Ludwig said, "so try to channel all the rage that you possibly can."

A pit formed in Lemmy's stomach.

"Anger?" he asked. "Yeah, um, I don't know how to do that."

Ludwig felt frustrated. Why wasn't he surprised by this?

"There they are!"

The gang had turned around the corner and spotted Lemmy and Ludwig. Now they were running at them, looking angrier than a pack of feral wolves that hadn't eaten in weeks. Ludwig and Lemmy knew they had to try something else, and they had to try it quickly.

"Alright, let's try telekinesis," said Ludwig in a rushed tone. "If you want to lift something, then you need to dedicate all of your mental energy into doing it; you can't get distracted." Ludwig pointed to the boulder that they had been hiding behind. "Try concentrating on lifting that."

Lemmy stared at the boulder and held out his hand. He tried to clear out every worry that he had in his mind; the swap, the duplighost, the gang, everything. Now he was entirely mono focused on getting the boulder into the air. His hand started to glow with a blue light, and the rock shined with the same aura. Slowly, it began to rise. Ludwig smiled.

"Great job, Lems!" he said.

Lemmy turned toward the gang with a smile. He saw that their cocky, self righteous attitudes were gone. Now they stared at the levitating boulder, completely dumbfounded.

"Yeah!" said Lemmy triumphantly. "I told you I've got superpowers!"

The trio started to back away in fear. Lemmy decided to throw the rock at them, so he waved his hand at them like he was throwing a ball. He was expecting that the rock would float toward the gang, but nothing happened. Lemmy did the same throwing motion again, but still no results. He started to panic.

"Ludwig, why won't it move?" Lemmy asked.

"Because you're not doing it right!" Ludwig said.

"There's a wrong way to throw a rock?!" Lemmy yelled. It was when he said that that the light blue light that engulfed his hand died, and so did the light around the boulder.

"Uh oh," Lemmy said as he and Ludwig looked upward. They got out of the way just in the nick of time and started to run. The sledge brother picked up the boulder and hurled it at them with so much force that Lemmy and Ludwig were almost crushed. After that near death experience, both of them were pretty shaken up. They stopped at the base of one of the towers to catch their breath.

"What do we do now?" Lemmy asked. "We've tried telekinesis and fire. What else is there?"

Ludwig sighed.

"Well, there is one thing we haven't tried," he said. "I didn't want to do this but...you know what they say, third time's the charm." Ludwig glanced at Lemmy, worry painted over his face. "Hopefully this charm isn't going to kill us."

Ludwig hopped onto Lemmy's back.

"Okay, here's what you do when you want to take off…" he began.

"TAKE OFF!" Lemmy asked. "You mean as in..._flying _takeoff?"

"No Lemmy, I'm talking about shoes. What do you think I mean by takeoff?" Ludwig said.

"Okay," said Lemmy, his voice rattling.

"Alright, here's what you do," said Ludwig. "Take a deep breath…."

Lemmy sucked up all the oxygen in the world.

"...and let it out as slowly as possible."

Lemmy was about to do just that when suddenly, he felt his nose begin to itch. _No,_ he , thought, _you can't sneeze now. Remember, as slowly as possible, as slowly as…_

"Ah...ah...AHHH….CHOOO!"

Lemmy rocketed into the air like a living firework. Together, Lemmy and Ludwig looked down and felt like they were on some sort of sickening amusement park ride. The ground was becoming smaller and smaller by the second. The only difference between this scenario and amusement park rides was the fact that one was almost always guaranteed safety on an attraction. Lemmy and Ludwig both screamed.

_DOWN! I want to go down! _Lemmy yelled in his head. As soon as he finished the thought, Lemmy dipped down and started flying toward the earth at a lightning fast pace. He thought about flying straight, and just like that he started to fly straight. However, it was hard to control himself at such a speed. He wobbled like a top, which made Ludwig scared of falling off. He tightened his grip on "Lemmy's" shoulders, but that didn't help with the nausea that was forming.

"I'm gonna be sick, I'm gonna be sick!" Ludwig said.

Lemmy knew that he had to stop. So, he screamed _stop_ in his head so strongly and so fiercely that he wouldn't have been surprised if Ludwig heard it. With that, he came to a screeching, abrupt halt, which didn't help Ludwig's nausea. While Ludwig did his best to keep Lemmy's last meal down, Lemmy looked around in relief.

"Huh. That wasn't so bad. In fact, I'd say that was kind of fun…"

Just like that, the giant boulder from earlier came and hit Lemmy in the head. While Lemmy and Ludwig had been flying around, the sledge brother had been holding onto it so that he could put it to good use when they stopped. Lemmy and Ludwig screamed as they fell, and they hit the ground with so much force that they created a mini crater. The two of them coughed, trying to get the dirt out of their lungs.

"Then again," said Lemmy in dismay, "maybe not."

"HA!" said the goomba as he stood over the hole. "Nice flying, losers! I've seen ten ton weights that are more aerodynamic than that!"

Lemmy and Ludwig heard laughter from up above. Ludwig's blood started to boil while Lemmy felt shame entrap him.

"Oh, I don't know if I would be so hard on them," said the paratroopa. "It's not like the rest of the Koopalings were much better."

"That's true!" said the goomba. "It's no wonder they're always losing to Mario. They're all terrible fighters!"

The sledge brother appeared above the hole, casting a large and foreboding shadow.

"Koopalings," he said. "More like weaklings." The gang walked away, laughing like they had just seen "Who's on First" for the first time. Lemmy and Ludwig climbed out of the hole, and that's when they could see just how bad a shape their siblings were in. Wendy's eye was black and swollen, Morton's head was so bright red that it resembled a tomato, Larry's hair was practically nonexistent, and Roy's shell had a hairline crack running right down the middle.

Lemmy looked at his siblings. He also looked at Ludwig, who looked extra grumpy and sour. He began wondering if there was anyway that he could cheer them up.


	7. 7 Clowning Around

Chapter 7 Clowning Around

Once back inside the castle, Lemmy got straight to work. He liked clowns, so he had a feeling that everyone else would feel better if they got a chance to see a clown do his thing. So, Lemmy searched around his room for a clown suit . It took a while to find one that was able to fit Ludwig, but he eventually did. After he put it on, he sat down and decorated his face with the iconic white makeup, some of Wendy's red lipstick, and some very heavy cerulean eye shadow. Finally, he put some hair chalk in Ludwig's hair, making it look lavender.

Now that he was all set, he searched around the castle corridors for his siblings. He had a pack stuffed with supplies and was giggling like a little girl. He couldn't wait to give them a show. He had been practicing his act for weeks, but had never had a reason to show anyone until now. His excitement was growing with each moment. Just where were the others?

Oh, there they were. Roy and Larry were right in front of the entrance to Iggy's lab, arguing over whose injuries were more severe.

"Just look at my hair!" exclaimed Larry. "It took me months to grow it into a mohawk. Now I have to start all over again!"

"Well, my shell hurts," Roy said. "At least the loss of your precious hairstyle didn't make you hurt."

"Oh, you wanna bet?" Larry said. "My scalp is burning! On top of that, your shell will heal fairly quickly. I have to deal with mocking and being sneered at for a while!"

Roy snickered.

"You know, I kind of wish that our bodies had gotten swapped instead of Lemmy and Ludwig's," he said. "Because I would gladly take your injuries over mine any day."

Lemmy stepped forward and cleared his throat. Larry and Roy turned around and when they saw him, they gawked.

"Woah, Lems!" Roy said. "You look so...colorful!"

Lemmy smiled.

"Oh, this?" he asked. "This is just something I threw together so I could perform for you guys. What do you think?"

"Oh, it looks great," said Larry with a slightly concerned inflection, "but will Ludwig be okay with it?"

Lemmy laughed nervously.

"Well, I haven't exactly asked him," he said. Then he put on a smile. "But I'm sure it'll be fine." He pulled out three eggs from his pack. "Now, watch as the Amazing Lemmy juggles three chicken eggs without having them crash to the floor."

Lemmy threw the eggs into the air and caught them in his hands effortlessly. He juggled them like he was doing nothing more than taking a stroll through the park. Larry smiled slightly.

"That's cool," he said. "But we've seen you juggle before."

"True," said Lemmy. "But have you ever seen my juggle...with my _feet_?"

Lemmy through the eggs up into the air and made a big show like he was going to catch them with his feet. Unfortunately, each and every one of the eggs crashed onto the floor. Larry and Roy giggled slightly.

"Oh dear, looks like I made a mess," Lemmy said sillily as he started rummaging through his pack. "Looks like I had better find something to clean it up." Lemmy pulled out a rubber chicken, a pair of boxer shorts, and a yoyo.

"Hmm, can't seem to find my wipes," he said with the same sarcastic/silly inflection as before. Suddenly, a deflating balloon sprung out of the pack and flew around the hallway. It was around this time that Ludwig, Morton, and Wendy stepped out of the lab. The balloon hit Ludwig square in the face. When he pulled it off, he looked down the hallway and his jaw dropped to the floor. It wasn't the fact that Lemmy was entertaining Roy and Larry that he had a problem with. It was the fact that Lemmy had gotten himself dressed up without checking with him first. His face morphing into an angry scowl, Ludwig marched down the hall.

"What's going on, here?" Ludwig asked with his hands on his hips. Lemmy turned around and smiled at the sight of his brother.

"Oh, hey Ludwig," said Lemmy. "You feeling better?"

"Lemmy, why are you wearing a clown suit?" Ludwig asked. "Wait no, let me rephrase that; WHY AM I WEARING A CLOWN SUIT!?"

Lemmy laughed.

"Well, I noticed that everyone was feeling a little down after the fight, so I decided to cheer them up. What do you think? Do you like my costume?"

"Like?" asked Ludwig. "What's there to like? You look like you crawled out of someone's childhood nightmares." Ludwig noticed something else, and his eyes grew wide. He started to stutter.

"My...my...my…"

"What? What's the matter?" asked Lemmy.

"MY HAIR!" cried Ludwig in distress. "You dyed my hair?"

"What? No, I would never do that," said Lemmy.

"THEN WHY IS IT PURPLE!?" Ludwig screamed.

"Hey! Whatcha got against purple?" Roy asked as he started to advance toward Ludwig. Larry put his hand up.

"Dude, just stay out of this," he said. Lemmy chuckled.

"Oh that," he said. "It's not dye. It's hair chalk." He swiped his hand against a lock of Ludwig's hair, and his palm came back covered in purple powder. "See?"

The angry look on Ludwig's face didn't recede. Instead, it seemed to accentuate now that the shock of seeing himself with purple hair was gone.

"Lemmy," he said darkly, "wash that out right now."

"But...but I haven't finished my show," Lemmy protested.

"I don't care! Just change out of that suit before anyone else sees you."

"But Ludwig…"

"NOW!"

There was a moment of tense silence.

"Can't I just go for one more minute?" Lemmy asked.

Lemmy had ended up poking the bear one too many times. Ludwig lunged at him in a fit of rage. Lemmy managed to dodge and ran toward the lab with Ludwig close behind him. The others watched in horror.

"Ludwig, you don't need to do that!" Wendy called out after him.

"Yeah, Lemmy wasn't trying to be mean or anything; he was just trying to cheer us up!" said Roy as they ran after the two of them. Ludwig didn't respond, he was too fed up with Lemmy's antics that he had stopped caring. When the two of them were in the lab, he jumped on top of his brother and pinned him to the ground. Lemmy tried to wriggle free, but Ludwig had too strong a grip. Wendy, Larry, and Roy tried to pry the two of them apart, causing quite a commotion.

Morton, however, just stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching the chaos unfold. Like Ludwig, he was also starting to feel fed up. So, he took a deep breath and the normally reticent Koopaling loudly yelled out "stop." When he did, everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and turned to face Morton, completely taken aback by his sudden outburst. Morton let everyone stare at him for a little bit before taking another deep breath. Then, he went over to Ludwig and scooped him up. He turned to Lemmy.

"Knock it off," he said. He turned to Ludwig in his arms. "Both of you." He set Ludwig back down on the floor. Ludwig looked from Morton to Lemmy and sighed.

"You know what?" he said. "Do whatever you want; I don't care." He headed out the room, leaving Lemmy feeling horrible.

….

Lemmy came out of the bathroom that was connected to his and Ludwig's bedroom. He had taken off the clown suit and makeup and was just drying off Ludwig's hair with a towel. The hair chalk was completely gone, so now the crop of magnificent hair was back to royal blue. Once Lemmy was done drying the hair, he looked at Ludwig lying down in his bed. He felt Ludwig's tail droop due to guilt. In hindsight, he probably should've asked Ludwig first before putting on the suit. He went over to Ludwig and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey," he said. Ludwig only grumbled and pulled the dark blue comforter up to his neck.

"Look Ludwig, I'm sorry," Lemmy said. "I should've asked you."

"Yeah," said Ludwig grumpily. "You should've."

Lemmy felt another twinge of guilt, but kept going.

"Ludwig, I thought that you would be okay with it," Lemmy said. Ludwig scoffed.

"How can you possibly think that I'd be okay with that?" he asked. "It's my body."

"So?" Lemmy asked. "I would've let you do the same thing. You know, if I were you."

Lemmy giggled at this joke. Ludwig flashed him a look.

"Oh come on," said Lemmy as he elbowed his brother. "All I'm saying is that you don't have to worry about a thing. I've got your back."

Lemmy's laughter increased while Ludwig's scowl narrowed. Then Ludwig put the pillow over his head.

"Good night, Lemmy," he said coldly. Lemmy sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Why?" he asked. "Why is it so hard for us to get along?"

Ludwig scoffed.

"I don't know, maybe it's because you have the maturity of a five year old," he said. Lemmy stared at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. Ludwig sat up.

"Lemmy, look at your bed," he said as he pointed to Lemmy's bed. "For crying out loud, you're a flipping teenager and you still sleep with stuffed animals."

"So? That's normal," said Lemmy.

"Normal?" asked Ludwig. "Lemmy, I'm less than two years older than you and do you see me cuddling sock monkeys?"

Lemmy's heart sank. He had a point.

"On top of that," Ludwig continued. "You never take anything seriously. You know that in the seventeen years that I've known you, I've never seen you get angry once? Not even over this stupid swap. How can you live that way Lemmy? I mean, a normal, healthy person has a full range of diversified emotions. They aren't stuck at level ten twenty four seven. The range of emotions that _you _show though...it's just unsettling."

Lemmy felt like he'd been stabbed. He'd never been criticized in this way before. While there were a bunch of criticisms that he could launch at Ludwig in response, he didn't feel like doing that. Instead, he felt like leaving him alone.

"I see," said Lemmy sadly. "If that's the way that you feel about me, then I'll just go sleep somewhere else tonight."

As Lemmy started to head for the door, Ludwig felt guilt entrap him. He was used to seeing Lemmy as very emotionally resilient. If Lemmy was so beaten down that he was willing to sleep somewhere else, Ludwig knew that he must've hit pretty close to home. He might as well have given Lemmy third degree burns.

"Lemmy, wait," he said. Lemmy turned and stared at Ludwig, who sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry I said those things," he said. "I suppose the reason why I think that way is because I don't understand how you think. How can someone be so happy when he has no reason to be, even going so far as to cheer others up when he could be brooding? Because if I were you...ha ha...I wouldn't have even bothered to put on that clown suit. I would have just been focused on making sure I didn't kill anybody with my powers. Lemmy, I have your eyes, but I have no idea how they work. Please teach me to see things the way you see them."

Lemmy smiled slightly.

"You wanna see things the way I do?" he asked.

"Yes," Ludwig responded.

"You want to know the reason I am the way I am?" he asked.

"More than anything," Ludwig said.

Lemmy put his hand to his chin.

"Alright," he said as he got up. "Follow me."

Ludwig got out of the bed and followed Lemmy out of the room.


	8. 8 Down Memory Lane

Chapter 8 Down Memory Lane

Ludwig sat down on the floor of the throne room in the dark. It wasn't a pitch dark, it was a soft dark. It was the kind of dark where one can only see somebody's silhouette if they are ten feet away, but the silhouette would become sharper and more defined as the person came closer.

Ludwig crossed his legs and began to wonder what Lemmy was up to. He had been gone for about thirty minutes. Ludwig began to grow a little nervous, even though logically he knew he had no reason to be. Lemmy wasn't the type of person who would do anything brash or downright evil towards him. Ludwig tried to calm his nervousness by doing some deep breathing and was a little disappointed (but not surprised) when he didn't rise into the air as he exhaled.

"I'm back," Lemmy called out softly.

Ludwig looked up and saw his brother. In one hand he had a magic wand and in the other, he had a crystal ball. Combined with the fact that Lemmy was wearing Ludwig's cloak, he looked like a real sorcerer.

"You will not believe how hard it was to find these things," Lemmy said with a little smile. He sat cross-legged in front of Ludwig and put the crystal ball down on the ground. Ludwig recognized the crystal ball as a memory sphere. Memory spheres were used by magikoopas to see into the memories of different people. With them, one could sense the emotions and hear the thoughts that someone had during a specific event.

"I think that this wand has enough charge to use the memory sphere one more time," Lemmy said. "Now, how does the incantation go again? Oh yeah: _observus pastel Lemmy hoppi." _Lemmy waved the wand over the memory sphere and it began to glow a soft pink.

"Alright Ludwig," Lemmy said as he pushed the sphere toward Ludwig using the magic wand. "Go ahead and give it a go."

"Wait, Lemmy," said Ludwig. "You really want me to see this? I mean, this seems like it will be extremely personal."

"Sure," said Lemmy. "I mean, why not at this point?"

Ludwig nodded and put his hands on the sphere, allowing himself to be drawn into Lemmy's memory.

….

_I pace back and forth in the entrance hall. I feel scared. Luddy has been gone from the castle for almost seven days straight. I think that Bowser calls that a week. Why has he been gone that long? What has he been doing?_

_I feel like crying. What if Luddy never comes back? What if he finds somebody who he likes to live with more than me? What if they live in a house that is made out of chocolate and have a pet penguin? What if Luddy likes them so much that he decides to stay with them forever? _

_I start to cry. I miss Luddy. He's nice. Roy and Iggy are okay, but Iggy's just a baby. He can't do much. And Roy doesn't like to spend time with me. He's bigger than I am. He calls me "shrimpy Lemmy," which I don't like. I wish I was bigger so that Roy din't have to say that mean stuff to me._

_I hear the door open, and there is Luddy. I run over to him._

"_Luddy!" I cry as I hug him. Luddy waits a little bit fore he hugs me back._

"_Hey, Lemmy," he says._

_I start to cry. But I don't feel sad. I feel happy. Really happy._

"_I missed you so much," I say. "I thought you were going to go live in a chocolate house with a pet penguin and maybe even a Gamecube for you to play on!"_

"_Oh, Lemmy," Luddy says with a smile. "You know that I don't like chocolate."_

_I let go of Luddy and see that he has something in his hand._

"_What's that?" I ask while pointing to Luddy's hand._

_Luddy looks down at the thingy. He looks strange._

"_Oh, it's a jewel," he says while showing it to me. "I got it from this old guy."_

"_Cool!" I say. "It's orange, like me!"_

_Luddy laughs a little._

"_It's also really shiny," he says._

"_Yeah," I say. I smile. "I like that you're home, Luddy."_

_Luddy waits for a little before saying anything. He has that weird look on his face again._

"_Me too," he says finally. I hug him again, and this time he doesn't wait to hug me back._

….

Ludwig could feel himself being drawn out of the memory. He remembered the event that Lemmy showed him. It was back when they were little kids. Ludwig looked at the jasper that served as the button for his cloak, the same jasper that he had shown Lemmy in the memory. He remembered the journey that lead him to getting it like it was yesterday, and he desperately wished that he could forget it.

"That is my happiest memory," said Lemmy. "Whenever I start to feel down about something, I picture you coming in through the door, and I instantly feel happier. It's like my superpower, you know?"

Ludwig didn't say anything. The memories surrounding that event had impacted his personality in such a deep way. It was ironic that they impacted Lemmy too, but with the complete opposite effect.

"Lemmy," Ludwig began. "Do you know what I went through before I got that jasper?"

"No, I don't," said Lemmy.

"Well, you see…" said Ludwig. "I did….I did something…..terrible."

Lemmy smiled.

"Okay," he said. "So what? We all make mistakes once in a while."

"No Lemmy, you don't understand," said Ludwig. "What I did was...unforgivable. If you knew what happened, you would…"

Lemmy put his hand on Ludwig's shoulder.

"Ludwig," he said softly. "I don't care what you've done. Nothing you can possibly do would make me hate you."

In that moment, Ludwig realized just how much his brother loved him. He knew that Lemmy loved him before, but he had no idea how deeply. While he wouldn't admit this to anyone if they asked, Ludwig's eyes began to feel watery.

"Lemmy," he said, his voice breaking ever so slightly. Lemmy gave a slight smile and put the memory sphere in his lap.

"You know, a lot of people say that I am incapable of feeling negative emotions," he said. "But that is far from the truth. Sure, I don't have as much of a temper as other people. But I do get scared. As you could see, I was scared when you were gone from the castle. And I am also scared right now."

"Why is that?" Ludwig asked.

"Because," Lemmy said, "I'm not in my own body right now and there is no guarantee that that'll change. I mean, what if Iggy searches for weeks or even months and comes up empty-handed? What if you and I are stuck like this forever?"

Ludwig hadn't even stopped to consider the fact that Lemmy might be concerned about the switch. He had assumed since Lemmy was still acting as perky as he always did, then that meant he wasn't worried. Now Ludwig realized that Lemmy was just playing a game of cover-up. Lemmy had fears and concerns, just like Ludwig did. Ludwig tried to soothe Lemmy by giving him a little smile.

"That's not gonna happen," he said. "You know how I know that? Because I have faith in my brother. He'll find the duplighost and you and I will be back to normal soon."

"You sure?" asked Lemmy a little skeptically.

"Positive," said Ludwig. "You'll be back in this 'rainbow colored teddy bear,' and I'll get my powers back. I just know it."

Lemmy smiled slightly. Ludwig decided that to really send the point home he should give Lemmy a hug. He motioned for Lemmy to come closer and wrapped his arms around him. While Lemmy appreciated the gesture, the hug felt a little weird. He had never been hugged by himself before.

"Wow," Lemmy said. "This feels awkward."

"Yeah, it does," said Ludwig as he let Lemmy go. "On the off chance that Iggy doesn't find the duplighost, let's never hug again."

"Agreed," said Lemmy. Then he sighed. "You know, if Iggy really doesn't find the duplighost, then there will be some adjusting that we will have to do. For instance, I still have trouble controlling your powers."

Ludwig chuckled.

"Well, that's something that can easily be remedied," he said. "All we need to do is have some serious one on one training."

Lemmy perked up.

"Do you...do you think that we could do that now?" he asked.

"Well, it is getting pretty late," Ludwig said.

"Please?" Lemmy asked in a begging tone.

Ludwig thought about it then shrugged.

"Alright," he said. "I mean, there is no time like the present."

Lemmy smiled and headed outside.


	9. 9 Training Montage

Chapter 9 Training Montage

Lemmy waited outside for a while, humming the tune to the song Ludwig had been working on and tapping his foot. How long was it going to take until Ludwig came outside? Lemmy knew he had trouble getting around with shorter legs, but he wasn't this slow. Right when Lemmy was starting to grow impatient, Ludwig came out with a thermos in hand.

"What's that?" Lemmy asked.

"Coffee," said Ludwig. "I need the boost if I'm going to stay up for most of the night."

Ludwig took a sip of the coffee and instantly spit it out. The look on his face was one of pure disgust.

"My goodness, what is wrong with your taste buds?" he asked. "This stuff tastes like tar."

Curious, Lemmy took the thermos from Ludwig and sipped the coffee. He was pleasantly surprised by what he tasted. Lemmy wasn't a coffee drinker; he didn't mind the effect but couldn't stand the taste. He thought that it was too hot and too bitter; however, while the bitterness was still there, it wasn't overwhelming. Lemmy was able to detect the slightest touch of hazelnut, something that he had never been able to do before. The creamer also added a silkiness and a sweetness that made Lemmy smile. It became apparent to Lemmy that while he and Ludwig saw color the same way, they clearly didn't taste the same way.

"This tastes fine to me," Lemmy said. "Great, in fact."

"Really?" Ludwig asked. "Well then you definitely have no sense of taste." Ludwig gagged. "No wonder you can't stand the stuff."

Lemmy laughed a little. With that, Ludwig let out a breath and rubbed his hands together.

"Okay, let's get to work," he said. "Let's start with telekinesis. You did pretty well with the lifting of objects, but you had some trouble with moving them. For starters, you need some positive visualization."

"Positive visualization?" Lemmy asked.

"You know, you need to imagine what you want to have happen very clearly before it actually happens," Ludwig clarified. He set the thermos down on the ground. "Concentrate on getting the thermos into the air and then I'll have you practice moving it."

Lemmy stared at the thermos and held his hand out. Like before, he tried to clear out every worry from his mind. He could see his hand start to glow out of the corner of his eye. Unfortunately, a stray thought popped into his head, messing up his focus. So, instead of the thermos moving, the ground from underneath Ludwig's feet sprang up and set him flying. He landed in the dirt with a thud, and Lemmy went over to him in a panic.

"Ludwig, are you okay?" he asked. Ludwig put his hand to his head and stared up at Lemmy.

"And now you know what happens when you get distracted," he said. Lemmy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry about that," he said. "It's just…" he started to giggle…"I thought of another joke."

Ludwig raised his eyebrow at Lemmy and sighed.

"Alright, let's hear it," he said. Lemmy smiled.

"Okay," Lemmy said. "What is it called when a bird flies up the stairs instead of walks? A 'flight' of stairs!"

Ludwig stared as Lemmy started to laugh.

"Oh, I feel so lucky to be you," he said with a sarcastic tone. After he said it though, he gave a slight smile, letting Lemmy know that it was okay. Lemmy returned the smile. It felt kind of good to see himself smiling like that.

"Okay, let's see if we can try that again," said Ludwig as he got up. "Focus on the thermos and try to control your thoughts this time."

Lemmy nodded and concentrated on the thermos again. This time, it glowed with the bright blue light and flew up into the air. Ludwig nodded with approval.

"Good," he said. "Now, do you want it to move to the left or to the right?"

"Left," said Lemmy.

"How far do you want it to go? An inch? A foot?" Ludwig asked.

"Um, I'd say about the length of a standard ruler," Lemmy said. "So yeah, about a foot."

"Okay," said Ludwig. "Now, picture the thermos moving in your mind, and it'll do just that."

Lemmy nodded. He didn't know how long it would take until the thermos moved, but he was pleasantly surprised to see that it didn't take very long. In fact, it moved almost instantly. It also moved the exact distance that he wanted it to; no more, no less. Ludwig beamed.

"Great job Lems," he said. Lemmy couldn't help but giggle.

"Alright, the next step is flying," said Ludwig. "You seemed to do a good job with the steering and controlling which direction you want to fly in. The only issue that you have is how to control your speed. Now, try rising into the air. If you let out the breath super slowly, then you will only rise about a foot."

Lemmy nodded, inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly. Like Ludwig said, he only rose about a foot. Even still, being in the air was a little nerve racking, especially after that afternoon.

"Okay, when I was first learning how to fly, I developed a little trick to help myself adjust my speed," Ludwig said. "I thought up little metaphors. For example, when I wanted to go as fast as I could, I thought of myself as a lightning bolt."

"A lightning bolt?" Lemmy asked with a grin.

"I know, a fitting metaphor considering the electricity thing," Ludwig said. "Why don't you try coming up with some for yourself?"

Lemmy thought about it. What would be the perfect thing that goes slow? A river? No, that wouldn't work; there were some rivers that moved very swiftly and rapidly. A sloth? No, that wasn't good either. Sloths barely moved at all. Lemmy wanted something that was at least active. Suddenly, Lemmy thought of the perfect metaphor.

_I'm a turtle_, he thought. With that, he tried moving. He moved at a fair speed, but he was still a little fast. He thought about adding to the picture he was forming.

_I'm a turtle with a baby sloth on its back._

Lemmy started to slow down. He swore that he could feel a weight on his back, as if a baby sloth really was taking a nap there.

"Okay," said Ludwig after Lemmy stopped. "You've got the basic idea of how to adjust your speed. Now, this next part is going to be a little tricky. We're going to practice flying while there are some distractions, got it?"

"Got it," said Lemmy.

"Okay, start flying," Ludwig said. Lemmy willed himself to go forward and Ludwig walked alongside him.

"So, how are you?" Ludwig asked, initiating a conversation.

"Well, considering our current circumstances I am doing quite well," Lemmy said. "In fact, I'd say I'm doing swimmingly."

"Swimmingly, huh?" Ludwig said. "That's a word you don't hear very often."

"Yeah, it's pretty obscure," Lemmy replied. "It's right up there with groovy, rad, gnarly…"

Lemmy noticed that he was starting to speed up. In addition to that, he was also starting to veer of track. Lemmy stopped himself before he sped up anymore.

"Woah," he said.

"Yeah, it's pretty tough to get the hang of," said Ludwig. "But don't worry, with some practice you'll be able to do it without any problems."

Lemmy snickered.

"I don't know how you're able to do this, Ludwig," he said. "You make it look easy."

Ludwig shrugged.

"Well, my powers are a part of me," he said. "It's like composing. It's something that I felt I could master, so I tried with all my might. Those two things became my passion when I was younger, you know?"

Lemmy nodded. He kind of felt the same way about puns and the circus. They were two things that he loved, so he became dedicated to them.

Lemmy and Ludwig practiced all through the night. By the time three o'clock rolled around, Lemmy was pretty good at handling Ludwig's powers. Ludwig would even say that Lemmy was almost as good as he was, which was impressive considering that he only spent a day with them. Feeling sleepy and proud, the two Koopalings fell asleep right outside under the stars.

Ludwig woke up around nine o'clock. He yawned, stretched, and looked at Lemmy by his side, sleeping soundlessly. Ludwig smiled a little bit. Lemmy looked so peaceful and undisturbed. _He did a good job last night,_ Ludwig thought to himself. _I suppose it wouldn't hurt if he spent the day sleeping in. _Ludwig started to get up when he saw his other siblings coming towards him.

"There you are!" Larry said as he ran towards them. "We've been looking everywhere for you guys."

Ludwig shook Lemmy to wake him up. Lemmy blinked his eyes groggily and stared at Larry.

"Larry?" he asked. "Is something wrong? Did the cook burn breakfast again?"

"No, everything's great," Larry said. "We just got a call from Iggy."

That got Ludwig and Lemmy's attention. They bolted upright.

"And?" asked Ludwig.

Larry smiled.

"He found the duplighost!" he announced.


	10. 10 Ghostly Battle

Chapter 10 Ghostly Battle

"Come on guys, let's go!" Ludwig called to the rest of the group.

The place where Iggy said the duplighost was located was Toad Harbor. So, the Koopalings had decided to take the Koopa Clown Car. Ludwig had run impatiently over to the flying machine and was now sitting inside, waiting expectantly for the rest of his siblings.

"Just give us a second, Luddy," Wendy called out to him.

Ludwig sighed in frustration and started tapping his foot. He didn't want to wait anymore than he had to. By the time that the rest of his siblings climbed into the Clown Car, his patience had pretty much reached its limits. The other Koopalings took immediate notice.

"Yeesh, Ludwig," said Roy. "You look like you had just been beaten by Mario again."

Ludwig glared at Roy.

"You wanna know how long I've been in this body?" Ludwig asked. "Twenty four hours! You try spending that amount of time in a body like this and tell me that you don't want out."

"I've spent my whole life in that body," said Lemmy, "and I don't want out; I want back in."

Ludwig looked at Lemmy and gave him a slight grin.

"Well, you're the exception, not the rule," he said. Lemmy grinned back at him as the Koopa Clown Car rose into the air.

It took three hours to get to Toad Harbor. During that time, Lemmy began to wonder how they were going to switch back. Lemmy had mastered Ludwig's flying ability and his telekinesis, but the powers that were influenced by rage were still useless to him. He knew that in order to recreate the scenario, he would need access to electricity. So, Lemmy got to thinking. What exactly made him angry? Lemmy spent a good two hours pondering this question before he thought of an answer. He didn't like how Roy left his dirty dishes on the table without clearing them; that was inconsiderate to the servants. He tried to channel the frustration that this brought him, and Ludwig noticed.

"Whatcha doing, Lems?" he asked.

"I'm channeling my anger," Lemmy responded as he held his hands in front of him.

Ludwig stifled back laughter and leaned back.

"This oughta be interesting," he said.

Lemmy could feel himself getting mad. However, the emotional attachment that he had to the issue wasn't that great, so he didn't get mad enough to cause the fire or electricity to go bonkers. Instead, all that happen was a tiny little flame formed on the tip of Lemmy's finger. It flickered like a candle flame and then went out. Lemmy sighed.

"Darn it," he said. "I just can't get mad enough."

Ludwig patted him on the back.

"It's okay," he said.

"No, it's not," said Lemmy. "We only we have one chance to get this right. If something goes wrong, then we'll be…"

"Trapped," said Ludwig seriously.

"Exactly," said Lemmy, "we'll be trapped forever." Lemmy started to feel frightened and anxious, so he decided to shift the subject a little. "Do you have any advice on how to get angry? I mean, just now I tried to dwell on a thought that made me mad. How do you do it? Do you have thoughts that you dwell on?"

"Well, I have many angry thoughts that I can dwell on," said Ludwig. "But I only choose to do that when we get into a fight. Most of the time, I just get angry because of circumstances."

Lemmy's heart sank. He didn't know if he would be able to do that. He would need to find a different way to get mad.

Eventually, the Koopalings spotted the island that had a giant statue of Princess Peach. That was an indicator that Toad Harbor was close. They saw Iggy waving to them on one of the docks, so that was where they landed. Iggy took them all to the place where he spotted the duplighost, and they were able to see him browsing among the outdoor fruit stalls. No other people were present, presumably because the duplighost had done something to them.

"Excuse me!" Iggy called out. The duplighost turned and when he spotted the Koopalings, he sneered.

"Oh, you guys are back already?" he said. He scoffed. "I see what this is. You guys just couldn't resist the opportunity to rub salt into a wound, so you decided to track me down and gloat. Very classy, Koopalings; very classy."

"Actually," Ludwig said as he stepped forward, "we have a bone to pick with you."

The duplighost snickered.

"Oh darn," he said sarcastically. "I would love to let you guys do that, but I'm afraid I don't have a skeleton." Suddenly, his face took on a more curious, puzzled expression. He looked from Lemmy to Ludwig. "Hang on. Did his voice just come out of…?"

The duplighost put the pieces together. He started to laugh.

"No way!" he said. "You guys got switched!" He chortled and giggled intensely. "Okay, that alone makes up for my loss!"

Iggy stepped forward, looking slightly less aggressive.

"Listen," he said, "you seem like a reasonable apparition, so why don't we strike a deal. We'll leave you alone forever, and you'll put Lemmy and Ludwig back in their correct bodies."

"And derive you of the humor in this situation?" the duplighost said in a taunting tone. He chuckled. "No, I think it would be much better if they stayed like this forever!"

The Koopalings had known that it wasn't going to be that easy. They weren't going to walk away until Lemmy and Ludwig were switched back though, so they started to prepare themselves for a fight. The duplighost scanned the group, and his eyes fell on Roy. That's when he got an idea.

"In fact…"

Just like before, the duplighost melted into the ground. This time, he reemerged as a purple silhouette of Roy.

"...why stop there?"

The duplighost threw a bolt of light at Roy. When it hit him, he screamed in agony, and suddenly the purple silhouette was on the ground, panting. The silhouette looked up and opened his mouth in horror.

"Hey! That's mine!" he said with Roy's voice.

The duplighost cackled. The other Koopalings didn't know what to do. Ludwig may be their best fighter, but Roy was a close second. They couldn't take on the duplighost if he had Roy's strength. The duplighost, seeing their hesitance, went into his shell and slammed into Larry and Ludwig. This sent them rocketing into the air. Up, up, up they went until they were about fifty feet off the ground. Then, they started to plunge back down, screaming.

Lemmy watched them fall in horror. He began wondering what he could do. One thing that Ludwig had told him was that he could not telekinetically lift sentient beings. If he tried, he would be put through intense amounts of pain. With this in mind, Lemmy contemplated what he could do to help them. That was when he spotted the awning above the entrance to a store. He telekinetically lifted it and flew up to his falling brothers. He caught them using the awning as a net and gently brought them back down to the ground.

Once they were on the ground, the duplighost charged at Morton. He threw a punch at him but Morton dodged. Morton tried to kick him, but he dodged as well. Then, the duplighost aimed straight for his jaw, and this time made direct contact. Morton put his hand to his mouth, which felt like it was going to fall off.

Wendy threw both of her rings at the duplighost, but he ducked. They grazed over the skin of "his" head, which only made the duplighost more confident. He went into his shell and slammed into Wendy, knocking her to the ground.

Next, Lemmy tried to fight him. He flew up about five feet into the air, where the duplighost wouldn't be able to hurt him. Telekinetically, he lifted the fruits that were in the stalls and threw them at the duplighost. The duplighost held his arms out in front of him to avoid getting hit, but it was like trying to avoid touching raindrops in a thunderstorm. Apples, oranges, and most painfully melons came raining down on him from above. This was when the duplighost decided to run for the docks. The Koopalings followed after him.

"Oh no you don't!" Lemmy cried.

Despite the fact that he knew it would hurt, Lemmy tried to stop him telekinetically. Lemmy felt every muscle in Ludwig's body ache and sting, but nevertheless he held on. The duplighost struggled against the power, which made the pain increase. Finally, Lemmy couldn't take it anymore and fell out of the air to the ground. The duplighost grinned wickedly and made his way toward the dock. Once he got there he turned around, only to see that Roy was standing on the other side. Roy rushed at the duplighost and held him above the water.

"You'd better give me my body back!" Roy said angrily. The duplighost grinned.

"As you wish," he said. The duplighost snapped his fingers, and just like that Roy turned back into flesh and blood and the duplighost turned back into a ghost. Roy beamed as he pulled the duplighost back up to the dock.

"Hey! I'm me again! I'm so ha…"

Roy looked at the duplighost and saw that he was grinning in the most beastly way.

"...ppy."

The duplighost grabbed a hold of Roy, and sent him careening into the water. Roy reemerged, wet and ashamed. _Should've seen that coming,_ he thought to himself.

The duplighost looked back to the other end of the dock and saw the other Koopalings. He chuckled.

"So long, losers," he said, and started to fly toward the statue of Peach. Lemmy and Ludwig watched him go.

"What do we do now?" Lemmy asked.

"You guys go on ahead," said Iggy. "We'll catch up with you."

Lemmy and Ludwig nodded and Ludwig hopped onto Lemmy's back. Together, the two of them flew toward the Peach statue. They pulled up just in time to see the duplighost go inside. Lemmy flew downwards and entered through the door. Inside was a large spiral staircase. Lemmy flew upwards and found another door. They went inside and found the observation room. They could see through the statue's eyes because they were made of glass, and there was a ladder that lead up to a balcony.

Ludwig and Lemmy spotted the duplighost standing close to one of the windows. They flew down to him, and Ludwig hopped of Lemmy's back feeling extra mad.

"Alright you freak," he said. "You switched Roy back. Now it's time to do the same with us."

The duplighost merely laughed.

"Oh my," he said. "Did I just separate Lemmy and Ludwig from the rest of the Koopalings, consequently putting them into more danger?"

Lemmy and Ludwig exchanged a fearful look. The duplighost caused a rock to materialize in his hands.

"Silly me," he said. With that, he threw the rock at Lemmy. Lemmy flew into the window, causing the glass to shatter. He went falling to the ground, screaming all the way. Ludwig ran to the window in shock.

"LEMMY!" he cried. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do except watch his brother fall to his death.

"Woah ho," said the duplighost. "Fifty percent; not too shabby."

The duplighost grinned evilly and caused another, even larger rock to materialize in his hand.

"Let's see if I can pull that up to a passing grade," he said sinisterly.

Ludwig started to hyperventilate. He knew, however, that he couldn't lose, not now. So, he went into his shell and ran circles around the duplighost. This caused the duplighost to get extremely dizzy watching him. With his foe disoriented, Ludwig went out of his shell and ran in the direction of the ladder. Hopefully on the balcony there would be somewhere to hide.

….

Lemmy screamed as he plummeted toward the earth. He began wondering where he would land. The ground? In the sea?

Lemmy spotted a large boulder down on the ground. _No,_ he thought. _I won't land in either of those places._

Lemmy tried to lift the boulder telekinetically; however, he was having trouble focusing. Plummeting to your doom can have that effect on people.

"Come on, Lemmy," Lemmy said to himself, "concentrate."

Lemmy dedicated every single last fiber of his being to getting that boulder off the ground. His hand started to glow, and so did the rock. The rock flew up to Lemmy, and he landed on it with a soft thud. Lemmy stood up and breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't hurt at all. Suddenly, he remembered that his brother was up in the statue's observation room with the duplighost.

"Ludwig…" he said as his voice trailed off. With that, he flew upward.

….

"Hiding is pointless. I will find you eventually."

Ludwig gulped. He crawled across the floor of the balcony, praying that the duplighost wouldn't find him. He nearly jumped out of Lemmy's skin when the duplighost appeared right in front of him, grinning like an evil maniac.

"Gotcha," he said, and kicked Ludwig. Ludwig fell twenty feet down to the first floor, and landed painfully on his shell. The duplighost flew down toward him and encased him in a purple light. It was around this time that Lemmy flew in through the window. When he saw what the duplighost was doing, he gasped.

"Well, isn't this a nice way to die," said the duplighost. "The almighty Ludwig _von_ Koopa, killed by just a simple little duplighost." He chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll make it relatively painless."

As Lemmy viewed the scene, he felt something building up inside him. It was the feeling that he felt so very little, the feeling that he needed to activate the pyrokinesis. It was pure, unadulterated rage.

"NOOO!" he cried, and sent a fireball toward the duplighost. It hit him and sent him flying backwards. Lemmy flew up to him, his hands engulfed in flame.

"Leave him alone! Or you're going to experience a second death!" Lemmy shouted.

The duplighost chuckled as he got back up.

"Oh, cool your jets," he said with a smile. "Look, if you're body means that much to you, I'll find a way to get it back to you once I'm done."

"You really think I care about the stupid BODY!"

With that, Lemmy sent a humongous lightning bolt in the duplighost's direction. The duplighost didn't have time to teleport out of the way, so he was hit square in the face. Lemmy flew down to the ground, feeling calmer. Ludwig gawked at him.

"Lemmy," he said. "That was...amazing!"

Lemmy snickered.

"Oh please," he said. "That's a little bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?"

"No, Lemmy...you did it!" Ludwig said with a grin.

Suddenly, Lemmy realized what he meant. He looked down at his hands and started to examine them.

"You're right," he said quietly. He smiled. "I did it!"

"Yes," said the duplighost from across the room. "You did it."

Ludwig turned around and looked at their opponent in horror.

"But unfortunately…."

The duplighost sunk into the floor, and reemerged as a purple silhouette of Ludwig once again.

"...you didn't do it well enough."

The duplighost threw a bolt of purple light at Lemmy, encasing him in a field. Lemmy grunted and squirmed as the duplighost pulled him closer, and Ludwig watched the display in shock.

"You guys were lucky to get away before," said the duplighost. "But this time, there is absolutely no escape!"

Ludwig curled his hands into fists. No, the duplighost was wrong. He didn't get away with it then, and he certainly wasn't going to get away with it now. Ludwig rushed toward his brother and jumped into the field, and suddenly the place was filled with a blinding light. Lemmy and Ludwig both heard the duplighost shriek in agony.

Just as quickly as it had appeared, the light was gone, and Lemmy and Ludwig were on the floor. Ludwig grunted as he got up. He looked down and saw that he was wearing his blue cape again. He looked in front of him, and saw someone who looked like Lemmy. At least, he hoped it was Lemmy.

"Lemmy?" he asked.

"Ludwig?" said the person.

Ludwig smiled in relief at the sound of his brother's voice. Lemmy's eyes grew wide. He smiled brightly, sprang up, and embraced Ludwig in a hug.

"Thanks for saving me," he said.

"Right back at you," Ludwig said. He smiled down at his brother. "You did a good job."

Lemmy looked into Ludwig's face...Ludwig's real face...and felt his eyes start to water. He thought that he had found a new moment to call his happiest memory. He buried his face in Ludwig's chest, and that's when he heard panting from across the room. Lemmy and Ludwig looked and saw that the other Koopalings had come in through the door.

"Man, that's a lot of stairs," said Roy as he tried to catch his breath. The others came in.

"What happened?" asked Wendy.

"We switched back, that's what!" Lemmy announced.

The other Koopalings all smiled. They went over, and a conversation was initiated. Before it could really get off the ground though, Larry noticed something.

"Woah," he said as he pointed. "Guys, look."

The Koopalings looked where Larry was pointing. There, on the ground, was what was left of the duplighost. His white sheet lay inanimate on the ground, and right next to it was his party hat. The Koopalings felt sickening feelings take hold of them.

"Let's go home," Iggy said softly.

….

The next day, Ludwig was in his room. He was adding the finishing touches to "The Koopa Kingdom's Wild Side when he heard someone out in the hall. He exited the room and saw Lemmy there, smiling.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Ludwig responded.

"How are you doing?" Lemmy asked.

Ludwig grinned.

"Swimmingly," he said. Lemmy laughed.

"Well that's good," he said. "Anyway, I'm glad we're back to normal."

"Me too," said Ludwig.

Lemmy grinned up at him. There seemed to be this quality in his eyes that Ludwig couldn't identify. Was that understanding? Empathy?

"Well anyway, I'm going to let you have some time to yourself," Lemmy said. "I think you can use it after spending a day as me."

Ludwig gave him a grateful smile.

"Thanks," he said. Lemmy turned around and Ludwig started to head back into his room. Before he could get very far though, he had an idea.

"Lemmy?"

Lemmy turned back around, looking interested.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Um, I was wondering," said Ludwig, "if you're up for it, do you...want to write a song with me?"

Lemmy's eyes grew wide and he smiled.

"Are you kidding?" he said. "I would love to!" With that he entered Ludwig's room. Ludwig couldn't help but smile.

**Author's Note: Well, that's pretty much the end. I can, however, add a bonus chapter if you guys want. But if you don't, then I'll just give the shoutouts now.**

**Thanks so much to all of you for reading, and special shoutouts to TheGhostlyRobot and Sugar Bombz for favoriting and Sugar Bombz for following. Please leave a review if you haven't already and see you next time.**


End file.
